《龙门心法》Vol. 1

In the tenth month of the second year of the Kangxi era (1663), Kunyangzi Wang Changyue was transmitting the precepts (jiefa) at the Bi Yuan garden in Jinling. He said to Ningzhenzi Shao Shoushan and Fuyaozi Zhan Shouchun:

"From my youth I have admired the methods of the Dao. I have come to see that human life is illusory and unreal, and that worldly circumstances are ever-changing. For this reason I wished to escape the cycle of rebirth (lunhui) and cultivate the supreme Dao as early as possible. Yet Mount Kongtong, though not far away, may not bring one to meet an immortal master like Guangcheng Zi, and the island of Penglai may seem close, but how could ordinary people reach it easily? Therefore, cultivating the Dao requires keeping far from defilement, sweeping the dust from the heart, cleansing the breast, rectifying the aspiration, and eliminating accumulated habits, so that worldly thoughts are extinguished like ashes. One must restrain desire and cut off the root of false thoughts.

To let entanglements gradually come to rest, one begins with upholding the precepts (chijie) and entering stillness (ruding), advancing step by step. To quiet scattered thoughts into emptiness, one relies on wisdom (zhihui), realizing it layer by layer. When the mind is open, it can become settled; when the principles are seen through, one can endure. Therefore, one must rouse the spirit, like taking up a blade to sever attachment, and step forward, like boarding a boat to ferry the world across. A single turn can free one from the cycle of rebirth, and a single change of thought can transcend bondage. The heart of compassion (cibei) must never be extinguished. The ancients taught that one should first liberate oneself and then liberate others. Loving-kindness and vows must also be kept ever present, for one should both save oneself and help others to be saved."

"I recall that in my youth, when I searched for the true Dao, I visited Mount Wangwu and paid respects to an enlightened master. Above, I received the deep grace of the Three Jewels (sanbao: the Dao, the scriptures, and the master), and I heard the precious teachings directly. Below, I relied on my own strength and practiced with diligence. I took refuge in the supreme Dharma King and followed the marvelous way of the Great Vehicle (dacheng). Now I have encountered a peaceful and prosperous age, an opportunity that is rarely met even across ten thousand kalpas and seldom encountered in a thousand lifetimes. How could I dare not propagate the Three Jewels and so repay the Four Debts of Gratitude (si'en: to parents, to all sentient beings, to the king, and to the Three Jewels)? I only wish to offer my modest sincerity and contribute a little of my own understanding."

Therefore, one must not forget how hard it is to encounter this age of calamity: it may be met only once in a thousand lifetimes. How could we dare not to expound the Three Treasures (sanbao), the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers that Daoism honors, in order to repay the Four Debts of Gratitude, which generally refer to the kindness of Heaven and Earth, ruler and parents, teachers, and all beings? I only wish to contribute my modest strength and to set forth my views somewhat.

Therefore, I do not dare forget my fault in presumptuously speaking beyond my station, so I have set up an altar to expound the precepts. Nor do I shy away from ridicule and slander; I continue to elaborate the teachings and discuss the scriptures. This is not done to show off or to seek fame, but only to distinguish heterodox doctrines and to dispel doubts. Heavenly law does not tolerate empty, flowery speech; the supreme Dao lies only in frank and sincere speech. I respectfully inform the assembly of the family tradition of the seventh generation of the Longmen lineage, and I reverently record the heartfelt words spoken in the Bi Garden, wishing that they benefit the human world and the heavens alike. How could one who dares not write ornate essays not speak plainly? Now I transmit these teachings to you precisely to guide the ignorant and deluded and to clarify the orthodox Way.

As for those whose capacities are suited to cultivating the supreme Dharma gates and whose insight is lofty, I am willing to humbly place myself below them and respectfully request their compassionate instruction, so that I may verify what I have heard. This is my sincere wish.

Having finished listening to the teaching, the disciples bowed and withdrew, standing in ranks on the east and west sides.

Then Shi Shouping, a disciple from Guangling, bowed his head and offered this praise: "The Dao originally has no fixed method; it reveals methods only because of the mind. The mind originally has no fixed form, and therefore it is said that method is empty. When the mind manifests, the mind of the Dharma King, an honorific for the supreme Great Dao, also takes on its appearance. When the Dharma returns to the mastery of the mind, it too returns to emptiness. To understand that a fixed and unchanging Dharma has no complete form, one must realize that the mind of the ordinary person is the mind of the sage. Mind and Dharma correspond to each other, and Dharma and mind correspond to each other. Only one who is liberated from both mind and Dharma is a true connoisseur."

II. Taking Refuge in the Three Treasures (returning to and revering the Three Treasures of Dao, scripture, and teacher)

Three Treasures refers to the Dao, the Scripture, and the Teacher. The Dao is originally empty, formless, and nameless. Without relying on the scriptures, one would find it difficult to understand the Great Dao; the Great Dao is contained within the scriptural texts, which are profound and subtle, and without a teacher's guidance, one would likewise struggle to grasp their meaning. Those who do not take refuge in the Three Treasures may sink into heterodox paths and fall into inverted delusion. Therefore, when those who cultivate the perfected Way and study the Dao sincerely take refuge, they should regard this opportunity as rare and precious.

First, take refuge in the supreme Treasure of the Dao, wishing that all beings may always accompany the Heavenly Venerable and forever be freed from the cycle of rebirth. Second, take refuge in the supreme Treasure of the Scripture, wishing that all beings may for generations upon generations be able to hear the correct Dharma. Third, take refuge in the supreme Treasure of the Teacher, wishing that all beings may cultivate the highest Dao methods and not fall into false views.

The Three Refuges (sangui, taking refuge in the Dao, the scriptures, and the master) are the first step by which ancient sages guided people onto the Way, and the first gate into the cultivation of virtue. Whether one aims at becoming an immortal, attaining the Dao, or becoming a sage, all begin with the Three Refuges. Why is this so? Nature and life (xingming) and birth and death are the great matters of human existence, and the principles within them are subtle and profound, not easily seen or heard through one's own efforts. To practice the highest methods of liberation, one needs an enlightened master who compassionately points the way and awakens the spiritual nature within the heart. Without such guidance, how could one suddenly comprehend the orthodox Great Vehicle (dacheng zhengzong), gradually enter the mysterious Dao of emptiness, and avoid falling into mistaken views and heterodox sects and deviant paths (pangmen xiedao)?

Therefore, those who do not yet understand the principles should first take refuge in the scriptural treasure (jingbao), and those who do not yet understand the meaning of the scriptures should first take refuge in the master treasure (shibao). If one takes refuge in the master treasure, one can grasp the scriptural treasure even without having heard its teachings beforehand. Having heard and understood the scriptures, one can then realize the Dao treasure (daobao), even where the Dao cannot be seen. The principles that once could not be seen or heard, when they suddenly become clear and connected, are all results of taking refuge in the master treasure. In this way, one naturally comprehends the true meaning of the scriptures, understands the correct Dharma (zhengfa), transcends birth and death, and no longer falls into the cycle of rebirth (lunhui).

The method of the Three Refuges that I describe must be taking refuge in the true Three Treasures (sanbao). Why? Today most people regard the Three Refuges as an ordinary ritual, merely chanting and bowing before images morning and evening, without deeply considering what taking refuge truly means or why one should do it. As a result, they remain lost in deviant methods and inevitably return to the cycle of rebirth. How, then, could they understand the Great Dao and be liberated from birth and death? (Note by Xie: the two preceding paragraphs address the doctrinal principles.)

As for the meaning of taking refuge in the Three Treasures, the sense of "refuge" (guiyi) is to constantly reflect on how one may come to understand the Great Dao and be freed from birth and death.

The so-called "taking refuge in the Three Treasures" (guiyi sanbao) means taking refuge in one's own intention, mind, and body. To take refuge in intention is to keep one's thoughts from being carried along by their arising and ceasing, so that the Treasure of the Dao (the Way, the root of the Dao) becomes manifest. To take refuge in the mind is to let its workings proceed without obstruction, so that the Treasure of Scripture (the principles recorded in the classics) can be comprehended. To take refuge in the body is to keep the eyes from clinging to what they see, the ears from clinging to what they hear, the nose from clinging to what it smells, and the tongue from clinging to what it tastes; to keep the hands and feet from moving recklessly; to avoid being stained by lewdness, deceit, and corrupt affairs; and to practice ascetic discipline personally, wearying the sinews and bones, enduring hunger, restraining bodily desires, and even letting go of attachment to the physical form. In this way, the Treasure of the Teacher (the master who transmits the Dao) will respond and come.

If one can move the compassion of the teacher and receive the transmission of scripture and the Dao, the key lies in first taking refuge in one's own body, mind, and intention, so that the self becomes a true embodiment of the Three Treasures. If our eyes and ears have not yet forgotten what they see and hear, we may become infatuated with external sounds and sights, or we may cling to emptiness and stillness. While attachment to sounds and sights remains, body and mind are not pure, and if they are not pure, how can they resonate with the teacher? If one rectifies oneself, cultivates and nourishes oneself, and pursues the root, so that one's intention accords with the constant Dao, with each thought empty and still and the heart settled, this is called taking refuge in the Three Treasures.

When the body does not commit lewdness, it can respond to the Teacher Treasure. When the mind is clear and not obscured, it can comprehend the Scripture Treasure. When intention is focused and not scattered, it can understand the Dao Treasure. When body and mind are solid, Jing (essence) is abundant and the body is strong. When the mind is clear, Qi (vital energy) is pure and wisdom reaches far. When intention is sincere and unified, shen (spirit) gathers and the original nature becomes manifest. Once Jing and Qi are abundant, the transformations of the spirit and intellect become subtle and unfathomable. All of this arises from taking refuge in the Three Treasures of one's own body, mind, and intention, and through it the Treasures of the Dao, Scripture, and Teacher also become manifest.

Now I will explain the method of taking refuge in the three treasures of body, mind, and intention. Everyone, listen attentively and with full concentration. Once your minds are focused, your original nature will appear. When essence and vital energy are full, the mind's wisdom is transformed and reveals a profundity beyond measure. All of this arises from taking refuge in the three treasures of one's own body, mind, and intention, and the treasures of the Dharma, the Sutras, and the Teacher also arise from them.

Now I will explain the method of taking refuge in the three treasures of body, mind, and intention, to help you dispel ignorance and remove your doubts. The human body is formed when the father's essence (jing) and the mother's blood unite, and one's disposition, appearance, and limbs gradually take shape within the womb. It is nothing more than a filthy bag of skin, composed of the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. The eyes see, the ears hear, the feet walk, the hands move, the mouth speaks, and the tongue tastes, yet none of these is lasting or reliable. Whoever skillfully uses the body can become an immortal, a Buddha, or a sage. Whoever uses it improperly becomes a demon, or sinks into the realm of ghosts or animals. Those who cultivate goodness may ascend to heaven, and those who indulge in evil fall into hell. Those who receive blessings treat the body as a tool for practice, while those who suffer retribution take it as the root of their wrongdoing. Moreover, since you have left home and wish to transcend birth and death, you must all the more take refuge in and restrain yourselves before it is proper to proceed. Otherwise, the six sense organs of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind will run outward unchecked, and the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion will arise from within. Calamities, obstacles, and hardships of every kind come from this. How, then, could one cultivate and enter the Way?

To take refuge, there is only one way to restrain the body, which is to uphold the precepts (jielü) and subdue the unruly body. Take the four deportments of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down as your standard, so that your bearing is upright and dignified. Do not let the ears chase sounds or the eyes be lost in beauty. Let your appearance be solemn and graceful and your manner upright and compassionate, so that those who see you feel joy and reverence. The precepts restrain the unruly body and transform it into a body for practice, and in this way one can take refuge in the Teacher treasure (the teacher who transmits lineage and Dharma). Everyone, the first method has now been explained. Next, we must take refuge in the mind.

All of you assembled here! This mind differs from our bodies: it is treacherous and ever-changing, and its course cannot be foreseen. It is like a violent wind stirring the great sea. The waters are unfathomably deep, the winds are fierce, and the waves surge and crash, rising and falling without fixed pattern, so that one cannot rely on them. Through countless kalpas, people have often said that the sea of suffering has no shore, as if there were never a day of escape.

If we now wish to take refuge in this mind, we must understand that it is nothing more than a mass of flesh and blood, not something lasting or good by nature. It craves sound and form and does not fear breaking the law or suffering punishment. It loves sweet foods and disregards the loss of body and life. It lingers in the realms of hungry ghosts and beasts without fear, as though it were sending itself up mountains of knives or into pits of burning charcoal without being startled awake. Even when it meets plague and sickness, it refuses to turn back, and even when heaven sends portents of calamity or the mountains collapse and the earth splits, it does not take cover. All these misfortunes are drawn in and set off by this mind.

The six thieves (liu zei, the six sensory desires that disturb cultivation and lead a person astray) are its vanguard, and the seven emotions (qi qing: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire) are its commanders. If one wishes to cultivate but does not first take refuge in this mind and subdue it, how can one overcome demonic obstacles, eliminate all hindrances and deviant thoughts, grasp the fundamental mystery, understand the correct teaching, penetrate the essential purport through deep inquiry, and reach the supreme realm?

To subdue this mind, one should quiet it through the upholding of precepts and enter stillness through concentrated meditation, like reining in a galloping horse and tightening its reins, or like calming a rising wind and extinguishing a flame. If the fire of ignorance (the afflictions and impulses that arise from delusion) ignites within the heart, restrain it with patience. Transform the blazing flame into a wind of wisdom, and transform ignorance into great wisdom. Turn evil causes into good results, dissolve sorrow and resentment, and restore joy to the inner mind. Regard craving for sounds and sights as drifting dust, and turn indolence into reverence.

Do not let dullness and the defilement-like afflictions arise, nor allow distinctions of right and wrong or the contention between staying and leaving, grasping and renouncing, to take hold. Otherwise the mind's thoughts rise and fall without end, gains and losses shift, and the heart wavers without settling. When the breath is naturally stilled, the state of mind will also grow calm; once the mind is tranquil and the spirit settled, one can then take refuge in the precious teachings of the scriptures.

O people, use the power of concentration to gather in and subdue this mind, which is driven by fleshly desires and restless in its wildness. Then the mind will become like a lake with calm, unrippled waters, where the moon's reflection appears and a bright pearl shines forth. Through this, wisdom penetrates the inner meaning of the scriptures, and one comes to understand the principles they illuminate.

You must also take refuge (guiyi) in this yi, or intention. Intention is harder to restrain than the mind. The mind is required to be upright, while intention lies in sincerity (cheng). The "sincerity" meant here is carefulness and attention to detail. When the mind is settled, thoughts become fine and clear, and no subtle matter is obscured. With undivided focus and unceasing continuity, the mind remains one whether in motion or at rest, shining everywhere.

Therefore, if you have not yet taken refuge in this intention, then even when the mind seems calm, you must still watch for intention secretly seizing control and producing cleverness and deception. It changes unpredictably, branches in many directions, and comes and goes without warning. Its fabrications arise and vanish in an instant, churning up patterns like waves, as though a dragon were leaping and a tiger pouncing. It is hard to grasp, like a shadow or a wind, and even when you think you have caught it, its form cannot be seen. It can release the force of a thousand jun from a tiny trigger, silently. It can also, like a single drop of water carrying a boat of ten thousand hu, scheme and calculate countless things in secret, its workings unfathomable, as if it could steal the sun and switch the heavens. If intention does not return to sincerity, these boundless schemes will arise. Once you take refuge in sincere intention, they dissolve like water melting tiles, and all things regain their vitality.

By accomplishing this, one may enter the realm of sages and worthies, cultivate oneself into a Perfected (zhenren), or ascend as an immortal and awaken to the Dao. Even while living among ordinary people, one can teach and guide others, so that the state is well governed and the people at peace, the seasons follow their order, and the years bring abundant harvests. Loyalty, filial piety, righteousness, integrity, humility, and uprightness all arise from this. The Three Bonds and Five Relationships (sangang wulun, the ethical norms of traditional society) and the Nine Schools and Three Teachings (the various schools of learning and the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) all take sincere intention as their root. Whether one is sincere or not determines calamity and blessing, auspiciousness and misfortune, and smooth or adverse circumstances. It also bears on one's karmic conditions in life and the retribution of rebirth.

Everyone! If you do not take refuge in this intention, the mind will be hard to settle. If you wish to settle it, you must take refuge in this intention. The light of wisdom shines of its own accord, and once awakened, the principles of each matter can be seen clearly, one by one. Before a thought sprouts, the mind is clear and still. As soon as a thought arises, the distinction between right and wrong is already present. So long as the numinous awareness remains unclouded, the turning of intention is like a pivot driving a mechanism, or the stars revolving around the Northern Dipper. When intention is true, one grasps the key to life and death. When intention is not sincere, who can grasp the fate of transmigration?

Everyone, the "Treasure of Intention" (yi bao) within each person's heart can, so long as the thoughts are pure and sincere, rise upward to reach the heavenly realms and sense the dark netherworld below. Ghosts and spirits lose their color, the sun and moon lose their brightness, the powers of creation lose their authority, Yin and Yang lose their constant order, demons have nowhere to hide, and the people of the world seem to vanish. Within and beyond the Three Realms (the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm), only yi, intention, is most honored. When intention is released, all things seem to appear through it; when it is gathered back, all things seem to return to formlessness. It transforms freely in all directions and moves at ease, and every one of its functions depends on this yi.

Turning upward toward the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) is called Zu Qi (Ancestral Qi). Dwelling in the center and returning to the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Tianzun) is called Fan Qi (Brahmic Qi). Descending to follow the Most High Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun) is called Zhen Qi (True Qi). A broad heart that embraces and aids all the world is Hao Qi (Vast Qi). A settled and even mind is Yuan Qi (Original Qi). Compassion and benevolence are Yang Qi. Grief, anger, and the enforcement of punishment are Yin Qi. Greed, hatred, impatience, and violence are Xue Qi (Blood Qi). Licentiousness, killing, stealing, and false speech are Xie Qi (Evil Qi). Obstinate attachment and blind obstruction are Mo Qi (Demonic Qi). Fierce cruelty and murky darkness are Yao Qi (Monstrous Qi). Harshness that presses down and oppresses others gives rise to Yuan Qi (Grievance Qi). All these qi arise from the thoughts and conduct of the people themselves.

When the body does not take refuge in the Treasure of the Teacher (shi bao, one of the Three Treasures of Daoism, referring to the master-lineage that transmits the teachings), it easily gives way to arrogance and violence. When the mind does not take refuge in the Treasure of Scripture (jing bao, the scriptural teachings), it easily becomes muddled, confused, and dim in understanding. When intention does not take refuge in the Treasure of the Dao (the Great Way), it becomes scattered and disordered and strays from the right path. When the mind is slanted and not sincere, it loses its centrality. Once centrality is lost, the light of wisdom cannot manifest, concentration (ding li) is hard to stabilize, the precepts and conduct (jie xing) are hard to keep rigorous, the spirit cannot settle, qi cannot gather, and jing cannot be generated. Therefore the body cannot be cultivated, the mind cannot be stilled, and intention cannot be made sincere.

Friends, I now set forth the Dao (the Way) and point directly at the human mind. If one does not early subdue body, mind, and intention, transforming them into the true embodiment of the Three Treasures (sanbao) and thereby escaping the cycle of rebirth, and afterward does not take refuge in the Three Treasures of the scripture-teachers who, in the world, have already awakened to and understood the Dao, then one has not squandered the good karmic affinity of leaving home to cultivate the Way.

If a person can cultivate in accordance with the three great gates of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, with firm faith that does not waver and does not retreat or regret, know that this person will certainly attain the Dao. If there is even a slight deviation, if one does not practice according to the teaching and becomes lax on one's own, then know that this person's karmic transgressions are deep and their blessings thin. Such a person cannot comprehend the Dao and may not even be tolerated by the heavenly spirits. How then could they hear of the supreme, true, pure, and liberating Way? When encountering such a person, do not scold. Instead, with compassion, offer appropriate guidance suited to their circumstances, skillfully leading them into the gate of the Dao. This is called taking refuge in the Three Treasures.

Thereupon, the disciples who received the precepts bowed their heads in taking refuge and recited a verse, saying: "The Dao is clear and empty, and cannot be named in words. The scriptures reveal it through subtle and profound characters. Were it not for the master's exposition of the principle of the Dao's origin, how could the ignorant and confused understand? The principle of awakening is handed down from generation to generation, and is called Quanzhen (Complete Perfection). To return wholly to the true origin is to transcend birth and death. The first-enlightened, out of compassion and earnest sincerity, and countless worthy scholars, lead those who come after into the gate."

III. Repenting of Karmic Transgressions.

Gathering the three treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters that Daoism reveres), the practitioner must then follow the teachings of the tradition in cultivation. Taishang (the Most High) says: "Misfortune and fortune have no fixed gate; people summon them themselves, and the retribution for good and evil conduct follows like a shadow following the body." Therefore, there are spirits in heaven and earth who keep records of faults and reduce a person's lifespan according to the gravity of the transgressions committed. Even minor errors number in the hundreds. Those who seek longevity must first avoid such faults.

What is meant by "sin-karma" (zuiye) is simply fault. Some cultivators today cloud their conscience and deceive their original nature; they see only the faults of others and never reflect on their own. Merely by failing to recognize their own errors, their sins have already grown deep and their karma heavy. If one deceives the heart and blinds oneself, how could one enter the Dao? For this reason, repentance (chanhui) is essential. Repentance means facing the sacred perfected beings (the divine immortals and spirits) with reverence, not daring to conceal past transgressions, and bitterly vowing never to repeat them. Only when this is done can one continue advancing along the Way.

I speak frankly now in rebuke because I wish to make clear the conduct by which people in the world deceive themselves and blind their own conscience. If everyone listens carefully, understanding will arise naturally. What is meant by deceiving oneself and blinding one's conscience? Speaking lofty words with the mouth while the heart covets wealth and possessions; putting on a dignified appearance outwardly while inwardly scheming and calculating; receiving precepts yet not keeping them, and exhorting others while not fearing the criticism of others oneself; outwardly being a Daoist priest yet privately associating with the improper; speaking without trustworthiness before one's fellow disciples, and in matters of affairs always covering up one's own faults; hearing the teaching but not practicing it, knowing the laws yet deliberately violating them; using cunning to deceive the ignorant and treating the taking of advantage as a way of conducting oneself; flying into anger at every turn and often being willful and stubborn; calling what does not exist "existing" and what exists "non-existent"; taking the false for the true and calling the true false; calling a deer a horse and hanging up a sheep's head while selling dog meat; doing wrong in private, and still acting secretly in evil even in broad daylight; scheming against others in the heart, and concealing harmful intentions behind a smiling face.

Each of these evil acts runs counter to the Dao (the Way) and its moral principles, and no one who commits them is unaware of their wrongness. Those who do wrong without knowing it are foolish and deluded; those who do wrong knowingly are wicked, perverse, and petty. Is this not deceiving oneself and blinding one's conscience? The sins they create are deeper than those of the ignorant. Why is this so? The ignorant lack wisdom, and because of their unknowing they err, usually harming only themselves; even when they harm others, they will in the end be harmed by others in turn. The wicked, however, are cunning and treacherous. They harm others to advance their own interests, blind their conscience and deceive themselves, and wish that heaven, earth, and the spirits all remain unaware of their misdeeds. They are skilled at setting clever snares and always conceal what they do; they plot in secret, plan thoroughly, and then use all manner of means to cover and repair their tracks. They lay traps so that others cannot tell where the trap came from, and they push people into wells so that no one can make out who dug them. Such people do exist in the world, but the cultivation of the Dao must never be like this.

If, before taking refuge in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), your heart harbored such evil thoughts and such conduct, then now that you have received the precepts, you should reform yourself and quickly repent.

Ruin of the rules is reaching deeper through the Daoist Way, and the wind of primal Daoist transformation (the teaching influence of the Dao) has weakened. Discipline has grown lax, and the Dao's civilizing influence is gradually fading. Many Daoists have lost the restraint of their teaching, and even among practitioners who are regularly admonished, not a few violate the precepts. Now I do not hesitate to repeat my counsel and to entreat you earnestly: one must repent not only the karmic offenses accumulated through the sinking of countless kalpas, and those committed across many lifetimes by one's parents, but also the offenses committed by one's present parents, and by the Nine Primal Ancestors and Seven Generations (a general term for ancestors). Regarding your own past karma, you should all the more hurry to cleanse it silently within your hearts. Whenever there is any impure, deluded mind, even the faintest delusive thought, one should repent former faults and reform past conduct; only then can the character needed for cultivating the Dao be accomplished. Otherwise, it is like covering one's ears while stealing a bell, deceiving oneself. How could one attain liberation? One would be even farther from the Great Dao! Now I have written this Text of Repentance, which everyone should recite morning and evening.

Vow of Repentance

Since receiving the precepts until now, all of you disciples have merely coveted the empty name of having received them, and have never truly put the conduct of the precepts into practice. Your robes and headwear do not accord with the prescribed forms, and the rules and vessels handed down are empty names. You are unable to advance diligently in the stage of Initial Perfection (the initial stage of entering the Daoist gate), and yet you have fallen into the faults described in the stage of Intermediate Ultimate (a further stage of cultivation). Your minds lack wisdom, and you do not recite the precept texts.

Since you first received the precepts, your disciples have clung only to the empty name of having received them, and to this day have not truly conducted themselves according to the precepts. Their robes and headwear are improperly worn, and the precept bowl exists in name alone. They have not advanced diligently in cultivation at the stage of initial perfection (chuzhen, the early stage of entering the Dao), and they keep falling into grave transgressions. Their minds lack wisdom, and they cannot sincerely seek instruction from enlightened teachers. When ignorance (wuming, a confused and benighted state of mind) arises, they often fail to show forbearance toward their fellow disciples. Their hearts are narrow and cannot accommodate others, and their thoughts are crooked, so they repeatedly err. They do not understand what true awakening is and instead take illusion for reality. They do not discern the root of affairs and instead regard enemies as kin. They treat the virtuous as wicked, confusing right and wrong, and they see the noble person as base, so that good and evil become indistinguishable.

Some disciples, when soliciting incense money, mistreat the donors, placing the burden of karmic retribution upon themselves, and they pocket every offering of money and grain they receive. Some recite scripture and misread its words, yet pay no heed. Some, upon seeing beautiful forms before them, give rise to lustful desires in their hearts, and some, upon hearing the teachings of sages, are filled with doubt. Such corrupt conduct will keep a person forever sunk in the mundane world. If from now on they do not repent and reform wholeheartedly, they will have no path left, and will inevitably sink to the bottom of the sea like a stone. If they continue to act willfully, then by the time the bell's sound has faded and their lives draw to a close, they will realize that they must face the retribution of the sword-tree and the knife-mountain.

For this reason, your disciples now offer incense of the heart, lamps of the heart, and water of the heart (offerings that substitute sincere devotion of the mind for material sacrifices), exhausting their sincerity in taking refuge in body, spirit, and life. From time to time they pray in low voices, gazing up toward the Dan Empyrean (the lofty heights where the immortals dwell), seeking stability in their destiny. Morning and evening they labor without slackening, looking up toward the Golden Palace (the palace where the Celestial Sovereign resides) and presenting their utmost sincerity. To express reverence after fasting and bathing, they do not shrink from hardship, and once again humbly beseech the compassion of their master.

Setting out offerings and earnestly pleading.

Translation

Divine Heaven, grant your forgiveness! From this day forward, I will thoroughly eliminate all evil conduct and forever remain a good person. From now on, I will diligently cultivate the Way and uphold the True Dao, strictly observing the precepts I first received. Should I again violate my former precepts, I will suffer the punishment of Heaven while alive, and after death I will fall into Fengdu (the underworld of Daoist legend). If I break the commandments I received in the past, I will endure severe punishment in the world of the living, and in the netherworld I will fall into the Avici Hell (the unintermittent hell of Buddhist cosmology).

May it be that, after repentance, my karmic offenses are dispelled and my blessings increase, calamities recede and distress is lifted. May the frost upon my heart melt, and the realm of awakening shine forth like a bright moon. May the dark places be illuminated once more, and the sun of wisdom shine through the long night. May good thoughts sprout and grow without end, and sweet dew nourish withered branches. May the principles of the Heavenly Dao bestow renewed compassion, and the rain of the Teaching fall widely, reviving all things. May the records in the register of sins be erased, and my name be entered on the Green Bamboo Slips (the Daoist registers recording names). May I diligently cultivate great stillness (deep concentration) and preserve a firm and steadfast body. May the eight consciousnesses (the eight kinds of mind-consciousness in Buddhist teaching) all be purified, and hundreds of obstacles and a thousand demonic disturbances dissipate like clouds. May I perceive past, present, and future across the three lifetimes, so that the nine generations of forebears and the seven generations of ancestors (ancestors and clan elders) may all ascend to immortality. May the reputation of Daoism spread far and wide, and the myriad vital energies flow freely. May the style of our sect continue and flourish, and may each branch be able to inherit the lineage of the founding patriarchs. May every advance, retreat, movement, and rest be auspicious, and may the storms of the world subside. Whether one withdraws into seclusion or achieves prominence, may all find peace, tranquil and at ease like the sun and moon within a pot.

I further pray that my teachers, fellow practitioners, family members and relatives, the common people of the world, and believers in every region may all have open hearts and clear, luminous natures. May the winds be gentle and the rains timely, the harvests abundant and the seasons harmonious; may the nation be secure and the people at peace; may warfare cease and the calamities of flood and fire be quelled; may the foundations of the state be firm and the enterprise of the sovereign flourish for a long age. May the holy emperor enjoy longevity, the ministers who assist in governance be wise, the myriad people unite in goodness, and the nations of the world delight in cultivating the Way. May I return together with all sentient beings to pure stillness. Respectfully I petition for the holy compassion to bestow grace and extend wide salvation.

This repentance and vow should be recited sincerely each morning and evening. Practitioners should face Heaven with their Dharma body (the inner body of cultivation), turning their hearts in sincere devotion moment by moment and cherishing a sense of shame at all times. Every sentence should be read clearly and distinctly, and every word should be pondered repeatedly with a heart of remorse and awakening, with courageous diligence. Whether life or death, hardship or hunger and cold, one should let go of all of these together; so long as one upholds the precepts and cultivates meditative absorption, a path of genuine practice will naturally open.

Record of the Green Garden Platform Sutra, Volume One

Fourth: Removing Obstacles

Those who cultivate the Way, if the obstructions in their hearts are not cut away, become clouded and their spirit grows dim. If what hinders their practice is not removed, they become dull and benighted. The original mind of a person is as bright as the sun in the sky, yet delusive thoughts and desires cover it like drifting clouds. When dense fog hides the blue sky, the sun cannot shine brightly. When desire confuses the orifices of the heart, the inner zhenji (the innate numinous awareness and the subtle mechanism of transformation) cannot pass through and become harmonious. Is this not one of the great faults of those who cultivate the Way?

I will now name the source of this fault. The obstructions spoken of in Daoist teaching are of two kinds. One is called lizhang (Principle Obstruction), and the other is called shizhang (Affair Obstruction). When one does not understand the actual circumstances of things, one cannot distinguish the true from the false. When one does not understand principles, one cannot discern right from wrong. To judge affairs only by clinging to principles, to be pedantic and rigid, is to be trapped by Principle Obstruction. To act in ways that contradict principle, to be perverse and willful, is for conduct to harm one's nature, and this belongs to Affair Obstruction. Whether one clings to principle or to affairs, any attachment becomes an obstruction.

Now let us examine carefully the meaning of the word "obstruction." Friends, many scriptures were left by those who were enlightened before others, so that later people might do good, learn goodness, awaken to the Dao, and cultivate the truth. If sentient beings do not do good but instead do evil, do not learn goodness but instead learn wickedness, do not cultivate the truth but instead practice deception, and do not awaken to the Dao but instead corrupt the teachings, this is called "affair obstructing the original mind." That is, obstruction in action covers the original mind.

There are also some renunciants who do good but cling to their goodness, who learn goodness but cling to being good, who cultivate the truth with excessive seriousness and attachment, and who, after awakening, remain bound to outward forms and to the traces left by the ancients. Although they do good deeds, they have not freed themselves from attachment to those deeds. This is called "principle obstructing the original mind." That is, clinging to principles and to good conduct covers the original mind.

Those who have these two kinds of obstruction may still be counted as practitioners who aspire to advance. There is yet another kind of practitioner whose heart has not yet become clear and whose inner tianji (the innate numinous awareness, the heavenly mechanism) has not begun to turn. For this reason, obstructions arise everywhere for them. When they see us who aspire to advance expounding scriptures and precepts, they outwardly praise us, but inwardly they are clouded by anger, obstructed in heart, and stir up thoughts of wuming (ignorance).

Gentlemen, if the mental obstructions that hinder cultivation are not removed, how can one ferry across the sea of suffering? Even with boats and rafts, sails and oars, so that the crossing is possible, people still cannot cross and dare not try. Why is this? These obstructive thoughts are like dark clouds that suddenly gather across the sky and cover everything. Wind and rain seem about to arrive, and they may stir up treacherous great waves. So people dare not cross, and are unable to.

Gentlemen, the sea of suffering is boundless, but turn back and there is the shore. The obstructions in the cultivator's mind are like clouds rising on every side, layer upon layer shrouding the sky. Once these obstructions are cut off, the mind becomes as calm and at ease as the water after the wind has died down, and only then can one cross the sea of suffering. Have you not read the Gaoshang Yuhuang Benxing Ji Jing (Scripture on the Original Deeds of the Jade Emperor)? The scripture says, "It is only because the obstructions of sentient beings are deep and heavy that they cannot see the compassionate countenance of the Supreme Deity." It also says, "You should each cut off these obstructions for yourselves." This is why the Huang Jing (Jade Emperor Scripture) opens by speaking of cutting off obstructions.

The method of cutting off obstructions is to give rise to great wisdom. One should not give rise to doubt, greed, or anger, nor to lust or jealousy, nor to any intention to harm others. One should not generate worldly thoughts and calculations, nor dull and turbid states of mind, and one should not be attached to sound and form.

The method for removing obstacles is to generate great wisdom, so that no doubt, greed, or anger arises, and no thoughts of lust, jealousy, or killing take hold. Nor should mundane preoccupations, worldly deliberations, or dim and turbid thoughts arise. One should not be bewildered by sound and sensory allure, nor dwell on questions of right and wrong. Hatred and attachment should not arise, one should not make distinctions, arrogance should not take root, and one should not cling to things.

Concentrate the mind and clarify one's thoughts, so that the myriad shen (spirits) within the body each return to their proper place and are brought under harmony. The mind should be as open and clear as the Great Void, pure and upright within and without, able to embrace and contain all things. Do not let external evil thoughts disturb the Dao (the Way), lead you away from the true lineage (the fundamental principles that cultivation must follow), damage the spiritual roots (the foundation of practice), or steal the precious treasures (the valuable attainments of practice). Otherwise, one will sink for countless kalpas into the mundane world, become entangled in its nets, and suffer the assaults of myriad demons. Even after hundreds of thousands of kalpas, one will not hear the wondrous Dharma, and will instead be seized and punished by ghosts and spirits, cycling endlessly through birth and death.

Therefore, you should concentrate single-mindedly and guard the true lineage with care, so that it is never lost. All the things described above must be removed one by one, for they are all obstacles in cultivation. If they are not removed, the six roots (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) will be defiled, and the three karmas of body, speech, and mind (actions produced by the body, words, and thoughts) will be entangled, so that purity cannot be attained. If the mind is not pure, how can one behold the compassionate countenance of the Supreme Lord? And from where would the seventeen great lights and thirty meritorious virtues arise? The light and merit of the Supreme Lord are the sacred teachers of all Buddhas and the sovereign lords of the myriad heavens. The realms described in this wondrous text, the Three Scrolls and Five Grades, can only be accomplished through the removal of these obstacles.

Friends, the obstacles in the world are many. The Huang Jing (Yellow Court Scripture) only lists some common behaviors and circumstances to give you a general sense of the principles of cultivation. Know that the minor obstacles of daily life are tangled and countless; once the mind stirs, they cannot all be enumerated.

Take, for example, the reading of scriptures and classics. Their principles are profound and subtle, and if one's own wisdom is limited and one cannot grasp them, one should recognize that the heart's apertures are not yet open and one's wisdom is not yet bright enough. If one is then unwilling to humble oneself and seek instruction from those of greater learning, one is being clouded by ignorance. Even after asking and gaining an answer, if doubt still arises, worrying that the other person may be mistaken, one goes to ask someone else; when the accounts heard differ from one another, vexation and unease follow. The various doctrinal meanings encountered while reading scriptures can also become obstacles.

When companions read scriptures together, if one's companion has mastered a passage and one has not, feeling irritated and displeased is an obstacle. Conversely, if one has mastered it and one's companion has not, rejoicing over this can likewise become an obstacle. If one is talented and, seeing others as dull, develops a disposition to bully or belittle them, that too is an obstacle. Seeing others delight in doing good, in giving alms, or in accumulating merit, one becomes envious if they are wealthier than oneself, and grows arrogant if one is wealthy and they are poor; both are obstacles.

When one happens to gain some insight while reading the classics, and grasps only a little of their principle, yet clings to the belief that one has understood correctly and lectures others on it, and then refuses to submit when someone of greater learning disagrees, this too is an obstacle. Memorizing a subtle principle firmly after hearing it, yet understanding only one aspect of it and failing to apply it flexibly, is likewise an obstacle. Having some experience during meditation and then boasting of it also becomes an obstacle.

When fellow practitioners receive the Dao together from a teacher, and the teacher says that others have understood while oneself has not, failing to reflect on oneself and instead resenting others for understanding first is an obstacle. Accumulating wealth yet being unwilling to part with a single coin even at the end of life; being attached to affections, desires, and habitual cravings; or being absorbed in pastimes such as the zither, calligraphy, chess, or painting, with the mind constantly preoccupied, all count as obstacles.

Some people regard talismanic arts as marvelous spiritual powers, while others regard them as contrived and inferior techniques. Whether people favor them or reject them, and whether each side clings to its own view, all of this can become an obstacle to cultivation.

You who seek to transcend the mundane world and escape the cycle of rebirth should truly apply yourselves to cultivation and cherish the aspiration to rise above worldly affairs. The obstacles before you are the mists that obscure your numinous nature and cloud your original nature. If they are not removed, how could you ever transcend?

If you are willing to sever these obstacles one by one, cut off the roots that entangle the mind-spirit completely, and dispel the scattered thoughts, so that your breast opens as vast as boundless emptiness, then your mind will become nimble and penetrating, and even amid myriad transformations it will remain harmonious and clear. Wisdom will arise naturally, and your original nature will shine like a cloudless sky. The wondrous functions that manifest from this include an understanding of birth, death, coming, and going, and they also embody the unity of the human being with the Heavenly Dao. All of this happens of its own accord and cannot be grasped through conscious deliberation.

Alas, obstacles, obstacles! The crux lies only in whether all of you can sever them. Thereupon the Lüshi (lǜshī, here referring to the practitioner or Dharma master who expounds the teaching) gave this instruction: "At birth, a person receives an innate original nature, and the mandate within is not false. The Linghai (línghái, the mind-spirit) shines with light, and even the most subtle concealment cannot hide. Once the breast opens wide, the eye's vision clears at once."

Lüshi Wushe Jueai then continued the instruction: "At birth, a person receives an innate original nature, and the mandate within is not false. The Linghai shines with light, and even the most subtle concealment cannot hide. Once the breast opens wide, the eye's vision clears at once."

Wushe Jueai Conditions.

Friends, you already understand that obstacles bring harm. Yet the harm caused by attachments of love and kinship (aiyuan), which are the cares and dependencies born of romantic love and family bonds, is more serious than that of obstacles. Why is this so? A mind-obstacle usually arises only when one encounters a particular circumstance. Once the circumstance passes, the thought dissipates, so its harm is only temporary. Attachments of love are different. They are deep roots planted from beginningless time up to this present life.

For this reason, sages, immortals, and buddhas all urge people not to cling to outward appearances, not to be bound by emotions, and not to indulge in reluctance to let go. The classics of the Three Teachings (Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist) likewise warn later generations not to be ensnared by attachments of love. Such attachments are the source of all demonic obstructions and the root of every calamity.

Remaining lost in confusion through countless kalpas and falling again and again across many lifetimes are both due to attachments of love. Failing to find the way of liberation, and failing to understand the principle of true emptiness (zhenkong), are likewise due to them. While alive, one violates the law and, after death, falls into hell. One meets with floods, fires, robbery, slaughter, and war, and suffers the ruin of one's family, the extinction of one's descendants, the breaking of precepts, and the violation of rules, all of which are attributed to attachments of love. Ancestors suffer harm because of them, and sacrificial offerings and incense decline. Birth, aging, sickness, and death, a perverse temperament, poor health, and difficulty making progress in the practice of the Dao are all connected with attachments of love. The six roots (liuken), namely eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, are not purified, and the six thieves (liuzei), the sensory desires that disturb the spirit, run rampant. The six consciousnesses (liushi), which arise as the six roots meet their objects, keep discriminating without end, and transmigration through the six paths (liudao) all arise from attachments of love. Between heaven and earth, and within the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the growth and decay of all things and the rise and fall of all affairs are likewise bound up with attachments of love.

If one wishes to transcend the mundane world and be free from birth and death, but does not seek to sever entanglements and abandon craving and affection, then one cannot attain clear understanding, pure freedom from defilement, and liberation in ease.

Let me now speak of the bonds that householders have in the world: between ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger brother, and friends. The ancient sages have already set forth norms such as the "five existences, five stops, and five deviations." They have also taught that the expression of feeling should accord with proper measure, and that one should distinguish degrees of closeness and warmth in loving one's own kin and in honoring the worthy. These principles are all possessed by the numinous nature (linming benxing) that is originally present in the human heart.

For lay people in the world, the bonds of affection among ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger brothers, and friends, the former sages long ago taught the principles of "five existences, five cessations, and five aversions" (wǔ yǒu, wǔ zhǐ, wǔ pì). They also taught that joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure should each be kept in proper measure, along with the due degrees of closeness and distance in drawing near to kin and honoring the worthy. These principles regulate and harmonize according to the numinous, luminous nature inherent in the human heart, so that each person may abide in their own nature and allotted destiny, thereby maintaining the harmonious and stable order between heaven and earth. Within the undifferentiated primordial qi (Qi) of heaven and earth, there is fundamentally no need to sever all these bonds of affection at once. The teaching of pure spontaneity and tranquil liberation will be explained gradually later.

Now we speak only of those who have left home to cultivate the Way. The donors and faithful (dānxìn), namely the patrons and protectors of the Dharma who are listening to the teaching here today, may also use this to cast off excessive attachments and worries. As for all the lovable things that properly belong to one's own circumstances, one need not cling to them in love. Whatever seems to be a fated connection but will inevitably come to an end must be examined clearly one by one, and one's emotions must be restrained.

Everyone, attachment and worry bewilder people, though you may not realize it. What is meant by "conditions of love" (ài yuán)? Whenever a thought arises that brings delight or preoccupation, it may be called a condition of love. This includes things large or small, coarse or fine; relatives near or far; matters of inner and outer, right and wrong, good and evil; the learning of the sages; the teachings of the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism; the principles in scriptures and the various classics; the mysteries of the changes of heaven, earth, and Yin-Yang; marvelous arts of mysterious efficacy; the Daoist lineages such as Qingwei, Lingbao, and Quanzhen (Complete Perfection); and even famous mountains and cave-heavens, celestial palaces and sacred realms, precious treasures and fine foods, the River Chart (Hétú), and tortoise omens. All of these may become conditions of love.

Even one's own body and mind, the five viscera and six bowels, teeth, tongue, and vital essence (jīng), as well as mountains and rivers, earth, plants, birds, beasts, and insects, may all become objects of attachment. Whatever the mind craves, whatever thoughts linger upon, whatever the heart longs for, whatever the spirit and breath pour into, whatever emotions cling to, whatever the nature delights in, whatever the mouth desires, whatever the body enjoys, and even what one wanders through in dreams all belong to conditions of love. As long as a single thought of clinging remains in the heart, one will be drawn along by it and find it difficult to reach purity and liberation. In the end, one will still be immersed in it and become a person of sorrow and distress.

O assembly, when people remain deluded, attachment and entanglement arise. Once one awakens, these attachments fade. Therefore one must stay alert at all times and shoulder the responsibility of cultivation (xiuxing) moment by moment. The instant the mind develops even a trace of craving for something, one should let it go at once, so that it does not draw out new clinging.

If one craves sleep, one should rise and sit in meditation. If one craves sitting in meditation, one should get up and walk. Those who delight in letting go find their spirit naturally lively; those who delight in returning to Wuwei (non-action) find their numinous nature naturally clear and empty. When the mind is free of hindrance, the various conditioned thoughts will not arise. The awakened person's mind is bright, not led about by external circumstances, not swayed by outside things, and not disturbed by worldly affairs. Sustained over time, one comes to comprehend a profound state that cannot be put into words, and the Yuanqiao (primordial aperture), the inner key passage spoken of in Daoist practice, opens.

If one does not remove attachment today, then tomorrow it is still not cut off. Having let go but not severed completely, one remains bound by it. Then the robe and bowl of transmission and the meditation cushion (a seat used in practice) become a net; straw sandals and the bamboo staff become fetters; famous mountains and sacred places become prisons; and fellow disciples and Daoist companions become enemies. Even the oral formulas and true words become arsenic and poison, and the original Dao-mind and fundamental nature turn into an asura mind that seeks merit and nurtures strife. How can one not be cautious, how can one not grieve over this, and how can one not resolutely let go and cut off completely?

Once there was a Daoist adept (daoren) who, after sitting in stillness for a long time, experienced a visionary phenomenon. Five-colored light appeared above his head, as bright as rosy clouds and brocade. Within the light, mountains, rivers, the earth, and all things were visible. The adept rejoiced, believing that he had attained the boundless radiance of God. From then on he sat upright day and night, focused entirely on the light, but it never appeared again.

The adept did not understand that this was an illusory vision and not reality. He deliberately engaged in visualization (cunxiang), setting aside every thought and concentrating solely on the light. As this practice continued for a long time, he became dull and obsessed, and his body sat as motionless as wood or clay. The onlookers assumed he had attained the Dao. For six years the adept sat in this way, practicing visualization. His mind and spirit (shen) grew stagnant and his form changed, yet he remained completely unaware of it.

One day his breathing became harsh and rapid. Companions stood beside him, waiting only for him to emerge from his absorbed meditative state (rudìng) so they could ask him about the Dao. Among them, only one practitioner recognized that he had been seized by demonic affliction. At midnight, the adept, still in trance, suddenly opened his arms as though about to take flight. The others lit lamps and candles, set out incense and flowers, and made offerings and bowed to him. The adept then ceased breathing, and from his mouth flew a moth, which dashed into the flame and burned to death.

The practitioner caught the moth and said to the crowd: "This is the adept who visualized the light. He craved the light, and his end was like that of this moth. When the karmic conditions (yinyuan) ripen, the body transforms, and one is reborn as another kind of creature. If craving and attachment are not removed, everyone will meet such an end. Is this not lamentable? Should it not be cut off?"

People who harbor cravings in their hearts create entangling karmic conditions. These conditions arise from craving (tan'ai), and craving grows with them, so that they bind one another endlessly and never come to an end. Thus fathers and sons, grandparents and grandchildren, and men and women are reborn again and again, changing their appearance and form and taking new names. Ordinary people (fanfu) are inverted and deluded, and they take all of this to be real. How terrifying and how pitiable! Everyone should understand this.

Six: Keep Precepts (jiexing) Strictly.

Practitioners who have already severed their attachments to affection and let go of their worldly entanglements, sincerely seeking to transcend the mundane and bring the cycle of birth and death to an end, must be scrupulous in keeping the precepts (jie). If former romantic bonds have not been fully cut, and craving and desire arise anew, the mind will remain ensnared and will fall once more into the net of desire, and liberation will ultimately be out of reach. For this reason, one must guard against such problems in advance, before they become apparent. Otherwise, the previous efforts of cultivation will be wasted, and it will be difficult to avoid the various obstacles (mozhang) that arise later.

Therefore, one should emulate the sages and worthies of high antiquity and use the precepts to gather and govern body and mind. The precepts here are like a vajra pestle (fachu) that subdues demonic obstacles and quells evil spirits; like a talisman (fulu) that protects one's life and adds to fortune and longevity; like a stairway to the heavens, enabling one to pay homage to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the Jade Clarity, Highest Clarity, and Great Clarity realms revered in Daoism, so as to transcend the mundane and enter the realm of the sacred; like a bright lamp that guides the way, helping one to eliminate the six desires (liuyu), the six kinds of sensory craving, and dispel the darkness of delusion; and like a boat or raft that carries living beings across the sea of suffering. They are also like a compassionate ferry or bridge, helping beings escape the river of love and desire.

The precepts are indeed the safeguard of the cultivator and the essential outline of progress on the Way. Immortals and sages have no fixed gateway, yet all begin with the upholding of precepts; worthies and sages have their paths of cultivation, yet all start from putting the precepts into practice. The precepts are thus the vital passage of the immortal-perfected in their cultivation, and the proper Way followed by the wise.

Those who hear the precepts today have planted their causes in past lives, and so it is a great fortune that they are able to receive the Dharma of the precepts in this lifetime. Yet if one does not practice in accordance with the precepts, does not uphold them strictly, and does not cultivate diligently, then this great fortune will turn into a great offense.

These precepts are the prohibitions and regulations of the heavenly realm, established by the Heavenly Worthies of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), the Heavenly Worthies of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Tianzun), and Supreme Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun). The Celestial Bureau of Nüqing (Nüqing Tiancao), the heavenly agency in Daoist mythology responsible for recording and examining faults, conducts frequent inspections, while divine soldiers serve as guards and heavenly generals patrol. Those who observe the precepts have their merits entered into the Ledger of Merit (Dance), a record of accomplishments and transgressions, and their merit increases accordingly. Those who violate the precepts have their faults entered into the Black Register. The records are meticulous and leave nothing out, and the judgments are precise and without error.

Today, most of those who receive the precepts do not understand their underlying principles. What is meant by "ignorance" is simply not yet having grasped the meaning of the precepts. Once one understands them, one should uphold them strictly and not transgress. If one breaks a precept, is that not precisely because one failed to understand the principle behind it?

So, all of you who have already received the precepts should reflect carefully on the meaning of the word jie (precept). What does it mean to uphold the precepts? Jie means to restrain and to forbid. Then what are the precepts meant to restrain, and why did you receive them in the first place? If you came to practice the precepts, you should live by them every day. If you cannot follow them daily, what is the point of receiving them? If you hold such a thought, it shows that you did not truly come to uphold the precepts. You came with private aims, coveting the empty title of an initiated Daoist or seeking only the robe and bowl of a Daoist. Otherwise, why would you not keep the monastic rules? And if you do keep the precepts, why would you need to have received them?

Since the Seven Perfected (Qi Zhen), the founding masters of Quanzhen (Quanzhen, Complete Perfection), propagated the teaching, our Daoist community (Daomen) has gradually declined. The precepts and weiyi (proper demeanor and ritual conduct, the codes of dignified behavior that practitioners must observe) have not been made manifest in the world for four hundred years, because no one within the teaching has stepped forward to take up this responsibility. As a result, the heavenly lamp that lights the path of cultivation has no one to trim its wick, and practitioners move as though groping in the dark. The staff that supports those who cultivate has been cast aside, leaving them without support. It is no wonder that the heterodox sects (pangmen xiejiao, side paths and deviant teachings) flourish throughout the land, while the Dao of pure stillness, liberation, and upright openness remains obscure and unheard of.

Today we are fortunate to live in a time when the Dao flourishes and the world is at peace. The emperor's blessings ensure that the realm is secure. Within the court there are officials and devout patrons, and within the teaching there are protectors of the Dao. Patrons (danyue, benefactors) have offered their support, so the robes, Daoist caps, and bowls are all prepared. This is an opportunity rarely encountered in a thousand generations and seldom seen throughout history, and it has come to you as the fruit of the affinities you formed in past lives.

Having already received the precepts (jie), one should carefully understand what "precept" truly means. Those who receive them differ in capacity. When foolish people first come to receive the precepts, their intentions may be good, but afterward they forget their original resolve and cannot keep the rules. This is truly regrettable, for the sincere intention at the time of ordination is wasted. Precept robes and precept headcloths are pawned or sold, remade into everyday clothing, or even cut up to patch sleeves. The pure bowl is used as an incense burner or to hold money and rice. Such contempt for the gods and damage to the ritual space, followed by breaking the fast and the precepts, drinking wine, eating meat, and doing anything at all, diminishes wisdom and severs the roots of cultivation. Examples of this kind in the present world can all be verified, case by case.

In the past, there was a disciple who had received the precepts. He violated his conduct, defiled the precept scriptures, sold his precept robe, and discarded his precept bowl. Then he suddenly died. He saw many underworld soldiers bind him with chains and escort him to the Yinsi (the netherworld, where the spirits of the dead are said to be tried). There stood a very imposing yamen, with many underworld soldiers lined up on both sides and many people in chains. They were fellow practitioners who had cultivated the Dao alongside him in life and later broke their precepts.

The disciple was startled and asked them, "How did you come to be here?" They replied, "We do not know why, but we all encountered this place one after another." He saw a plaque hanging over the gate that read "Office of Examination and Verification (Kaoduisi)," and he asked the underworld soldiers, "Why is it called the Office of Examination and Verification?" The soldiers said, "This is an institution newly established under the heavenly statutes. It has two judicial offices whose sole task is to investigate the precepts of Buddhist monks and Daoist priests. Anyone who sincerely receives the precepts in the Yang world has their name registered by the Earth God (Tudi). On which day they received the precepts, when they kept them meritoriously or transgressed, when they broke them, whether they turned away from the Dao and their teacher, violated the rules and damaged the teaching, sold their precept robes, defiled their precept bowls, slandered the precept master who conferred the precepts, how they treated their patrons, and whether they were greedy or indulged in lust, all of this is recorded item by item and reported monthly to the offices for review. One must first be examined in this office before proceeding to the other yamen to handle matters there."

"Among those who receive the precepts, only those of lofty virtue and rigorously steadfast resolve are never taken to the Yinsi. As for you, you will certainly first be examined in this office, have your registers settled, and only then will your lives be taken within the prescribed period. If you have not been verified by this office, the other yamen will not sign and release you."

The scripture says that this disciple, after being dead for a day and a half, returned to life and related this matter of the netherworld's examination of the precepts, to admonish those who receive the precepts to keep them and to practice them faithfully.

Persons who have received the precepts should constantly examine their own hearts, words, deeds, and thoughts. Where the thought is good, they should put it into practice; where it is evil, they should correct it promptly. They should not make excuses for themselves, nor easily pardon their own faults. Upon discovering an error, they should immediately confess before the Holy Perfected (the sacred immortal perfected beings), study carefully according to the norms of the precept scriptures, and diligently seek instruction from enlightened masters and pursue deeper learning. They should respect their teachers as they would respect their parents, respect their fellow practitioners (co-cultivators) as they would respect elder brothers, and treasure the Dao-methods as they would treasure a beloved companion, cherishing the scriptures as they would precious jade.

Hold the precepts in the mind with the care one takes in holding an object in the hand: once the hand lets go, the object is lost, and once the mind relaxes, the precepts are broken. Under human law, violation brings punishment; under the Dao's celestial principles and the Nüqing statutes (the celestial laws within the Daoist precept system), violation brings retribution. Do not assume that the Yin Realm (the place of judgment in the netherworld) is so dark and hidden that it cannot see human conduct; the fortunes and misfortunes of life and death have their roots in one's own thoughts. Nor should one assume that the precept spirits are so secret as to be unseen; every movement and every thought of a person is subject to the restraint of the precepts.

The four characters "strictly perfect in precept conduct" (jiexing jingyan) may be explained as follows: to settle the mind and accord it with the Dao is called "precept" (jie); to endure and continually carry out is called "conduct" (xing); a mind pure and single-pointed, free of distraction, is called "essence" (jing); not transgressing even slightly is called "strictness" (yan). To observe the precepts steadfastly from beginning to end is called "holding the precepts" (chijie); to remain unchanged even in adversity is called "guarding the precepts" (shoujie).

Since you have received the precepts, can you not even recall what the ten precept articles are? If there is merely the name of having received the precepts without actual observance, then what is the point of receiving them at all?

Simply grasp the substance of this teaching, and the common people may cultivate their practice with an easy mind. The Lord of Heaven takes the cherishing of life as its fundamental intention, its compassion is vast, and it saves all beings. If a person who has received precepts (shoujie) breaks them, but afterward is able to reform, to repent of the offense, to bring forth a sincere awakening, and to resume keeping the precepts with strict and diligent observance, never daring to transgress again, then such earnest and sorrowful repentance will move the heart of Heaven to pity. It will pardon his faults and restore him to the right Way.

Let me tell another story, of a man who broke the precepts, then kept them again, and whose case reveals the workings of karma, so that everyone may know it. A Daoist who had received the precepts said that after his ordination, he suddenly met with demonic trials, and so he broke his fast and transgressed the precepts, doing all manner of things he should not have done.

One night he dreamed that he had traveled to the Yinsi (the netherworld, in Daoist belief the realm where the souls of the dead are judged), and he saw a trial in progress there. Many ghost-judges in the netherworld had lit gauze lanterns and arranged incense tables. After a while, the Yama King emerged from the great gate, his retinue solemn and dignified, like the Son of Heaven among men. Then he heard a clerk announce: "The Heavenly Envoy has arrived; quickly set out the incense tables to receive the imperial decree." The scene resembled the reception of an edict by a government office among men.

He saw that the Heavenly Envoy was an immortal official, wearing a golden lotus crown and a feather robe of five-colored clouds, the vestment of Daoist immortal officials. He held a yellow decree case in his hands and passed it inside, and none of the ghosts could enter. The Daoist in the dream also wished to go in, but a ghost-guard shouted at him: "What wandering lonely ghost are you, from what place, that you dare to force your way into this strictly guarded hall?" Another ghost-guard said, "Judging by his dress, he looks like a Daoist priest."

The ghost soldier said, "Recently an edict was issued: those who have cultivated the Way and kept the precepts may enter the Yama court in full dress when they die. Those whose bodies radiate light enter by the main gate, and those whose light is faint enter by the east gate. Those without any light are stripped of their precept registers, fitted with shackles, and held outside the small west gate to await questioning by name tag. You are a Daoist with no light at all, only a cloud of black qi, just like me, and yet you dare to pass yourself off as a Daoist! Go, go!" With that, he raised his iron rod and struck.

The precept-receiving Daoist (jiezi) woke in alarm, with a clear memory of the dream. He immediately got out of bed and washed his face, burned incense with clean fire, and was deeply frightened. Grieving, he confessed his faults, resolved firmly to correct his former errors, and kept the precepts with strict discipline.

One day he dreamed again that he was traveling through the Yama court, in a place he had visited before. Ghost soldiers carrying iron rods and iron chains came running toward him and asked, "Where are you going, immortal master?" The jiezi replied, "I am only passing through on my wanderings and dare not disturb the Great King. I am going back now." The ghost soldier said, "The Great King has a rule: whenever an immortal master of clear and upright conduct passes through here, he must be invited to sit in the tea hall, where his name is asked and recorded so that it can be verified." The jiezi answered, "I have no official business, so there is no need to trouble anyone." He then turned and left, and suddenly he was beyond the borders of the Yama court. On waking, he told everyone what had happened.

On his first journey he was beaten and cursed by the ghost soldiers; on the second he was received with respect and asked his name. It was the same person, yet the treatment he received was entirely different, because his thoughts and conduct had changed for better or worse. Had he not repented of his past faults, he would have remained as he was before. From this we see that the principles of the spirit world correspond to those of the human world, and that the netherworld and the world of the living follow the same order. How could one fail to hold reverence in one's heart? Everyone, time passes swiftly, and the mind and nature should be kept bright.

The Night Gate Begins Before Death Arrives

Do not wait until death and impermanence arrive before you set out on the dark road to the Yin Office of the underworld. The ox-headed guard (a demon attendant of the underworld in tradition) will show no mercy, and the horse-faced guard (another underworld attendant) will not make allowances. When you err, correct yourself at once. Cultivation depends entirely on strict observance of the precepts and diligent practice. Among all the Dharma gates, cultivating the mind is the highest. Before the boundless sea of suffering, one should follow the light of the precepts and wisdom as one advances.

VII. Enduring Insult to Subdue the Heart

The most difficult fault for cultivators to remove and to correct is anger. When a person clings to the "self-mark" (regarding the self as a real and unchanging entity) or the "other-mark" (clinging to others and to the distinctions between people), a flash of anger arises, and this is called the "fire of ignorance karma" (a blazing fire kindled by delusion and rage that produces evil karma). Among the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion, the poison of anger is one of them.

If anger is not dissolved, the heart is scorched by it. Anger spoken from the mouth in turn injures others. It throws the small clear spirit-aperture of the mind into disorder, and it can ruin the body and mind until they are unrecognizable, so that the interior of the body is never at peace and the internal organs lose their harmony.

When the ears hear others reviling oneself, the flame of anger rises from the liver. When this blazing fire meets a raging wind, the ear-root (a Buddhist term for the perceptive faculty of hearing), which hears sounds, is like a door and window sealed shut and an orifice stopped up. When the eyes see others insulting oneself, the flame of anger rises from the kidneys. The fire likewise clouds the eye-root (the perceptive faculty of sight), so that one is as if blocked from the road ahead. Angry words escape the mouth involuntarily, a fire of resentment surges in the heart, and a thought to harm others wells up from the gallbladder.

At such a moment, a person fears neither heaven, earth, nor the spirits above, nor life and death below, and does not even fear the underworld's punishments such as the boiling oil cauldron and the sword tree, nor the state's penalties of beheading, strangulation, military exile, or banishment. The tongue, which was made to speak, instead creates every kind of karmic offense.

Why do the ears, eyes, mouth, and tongue suffer in this way? Simply because this heart of flesh and blood has not been subdued, and it relies on a momentary surge of qi and blood to display its strength and bully others. Only after the matter is over and the heart has calmed does one realize that the anger has long since cooled and dispersed.

Friends, the bodies of all living beings are gathered from blood and breath. The roots of anger were planted long before this lifetime, in kalpas so distant they cannot be traced, and the fire of ignorance and karmic affliction (the anger kindled by delusion and karma) has lain hidden in the heart all along. So when things go as we wish, we are glad, and when they do not, that gladness turns to resentment. When circumstances run against our will, anger arises, and this is the very root of samsara.

You have left home to end birth and death. If the root of anger is not cut, the poisonous dragon will disturb the tiangen (root of heaven), a term in cultivation for the foundation of body and mind. You wish to escape the net of worldly dust, and the matter of life and nature is so important, yet if anger is not dispelled, the breath will be blocked at the yuekū (lunar cavern), a term of internal alchemy for the part of the body associated with the yin and with quiet nourishment.

The human nature is originally good, but anger turns it into a poisonous dragon. Whenever anger is frequent, its fire burns the self. Life could endure long, yet anger makes a person like a fierce tiger, constantly producing poisonous vapors, with breath agitated and disordered, and the true nature is lost. Those who cannot understand the principle of life and death do so because they do not treasure their life; where life cannot be settled, it is because the fire of anger is too fierce. When anger is too strong, the six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) cannot be gathered in, the limbs tremble and movements go astray, the five sense organs cannot function properly, and fiery vapors seem to scatter from the pores. This causes all manner of harm and shortens the years allotted to us.

Friends, to cut off anger, one must first subdue evil thoughts. What are evil thoughts? Being unable to endure insult is an evil thought. The Great Sage Confucius said: "Teach with gentleness and generosity, and do not..."

Assembly, to cut off anger and resentment, one must first subdue evil thoughts. What are evil thoughts? Being unable to endure humiliation is an evil thought. Confucius said: "Teach people with generosity and gentleness, and do not repay unreasonable people with evil deeds." If the mind cannot yield, evil thoughts will persist day after day, and one will become an evil person day by day. How can such a person enter the Dao?

Assembly, those who cannot endure humiliation have minds that cannot be subdued. They are like venomous dragons and fierce tigers, eager to humiliate others but unwilling to let others humiliate them. They are competitive and combative, seeking the spotlight before the crowd, displaying willfulness and pomp, with stern voices and fierce expressions. They boast of being heroes, compete for profit and reputation, flaunt their merits, abuse their power, and rely on strength to bully the weak. Sometimes, though they are zealous in exerting themselves for others, they do not realize that they may save people or harm them.

Deluded and unawakened, how could beings reflect far ahead or examine themselves deeply? The Way of Heaven (Tiandao) operates far-reachingly. If grievances are not resolved, it is ultimately because the root of anger and resentment has not been cut off. Anger makes a person want only to humiliate others and refuses to let oneself be humiliated. Yet, enduring others' humiliation and humiliating others are very different.

Everyone should understand that the word "insult" (ru) has a broad meaning. If a man commits adultery with another man's wife or concubine, he does not consider that the other man's husband, children, grandchildren, ancestors, and family will all suffer disgrace as a result. But when another man commits adultery with his own wife or concubine, he flares up in rage, feeling that his face has been completely lost. Thinking that if the matter became known, the virtue (De) of his parents and ancestors and the family reputation of his children and grandchildren would be tarnished, he decides he cannot let the other man off. So he grabs knives and clubs, and his anger rises to murderous intent.

Yet he does not stop to think: when others insult me, I become this angry; if I had not insulted others, how would others treat me this way? If one's wife and daughters are sexually humiliated in this life, it must be that evil causes were planted in a previous life. If in a previous life one committed adultery with others' wives and daughters, one may in this life meet the retribution of one's own wife and daughters being sexually humiliated. This is the principle of cause and effect corresponding in the world.

When you hear these words, do not give rise to the mind of sexual desire. I tell you plainly: all people's lives arise from lust. If the mind of lust is not eliminated, the root of birth and death cannot be cut off. People have a form body (the visible physical body) because of lust. If one wishes to transcend the form body, one must wash away desire. Once desire is removed, one can cultivate a Dharma body (a pure body beyond the physical) within this perishable flesh and ultimately be liberated from birth and death. These are sincere words; do not hear them as idle talk and let them pass.

Recently there was a cultivator who had received precepts and who usually kept a steadfast mind of the Way (Dao). One day he went out carrying his alms bowl to beg for food offerings, and he passed a rice shop. The shopkeeper, who revered Daoism, joyfully invited him into the central hall, had him sit down, bowed, and made a meal offering. He also placed a small piece of silver in the cultivator's bowl. As the cultivator was about to leave, he happened to meet the shopkeeper's wife passing along the corridor. She had no time to avoid him, and the two came face to face. After thanking them for the meal, the cultivator left.

After seeing that woman, he found that at night, while sitting in meditation, his mind kept dwelling on her and imagining her appearance. He soon realized he had given rise to delusive thoughts, so he knelt, burned incense, and repented, then lay down. Suddenly he seemed to experience his own death, rebirth, growing up, and taking a wife. His wife was beautiful, and the two lived in harmony. Later he went out and met a Daoist priest begging for food by the roadside. He was delighted, brought the priest home to offer a meal and do good works, and called his wife out to meet them. After he bowed in reverence, he turned and saw the priest beckoning to his wife. At once he flew into a rage, ran into the kitchen, and grabbed a cleaver to strike the priest. He tripped over something underfoot and fell, and on waking he found it had only been a dream. Still angry, he was drenched in sweat.

When he recalled the Daoist priest in the dream, his face was exactly that of the shopkeeper who had offered him a meal at the rice shop. The wife in the dream was the woman he had met in the corridor that day. Everyone should understand that this cultivator had only just begun practice. Although his keeping of the precepts was firm, his concentration was not yet stable. Therefore the women he had seen by day kept circling his mind by night. His delusive thoughts were deep, and so in the dream they took on the form of a real vision.

The cultivator was steadfast in keeping the precepts, never spoke falsely, and kept his thoughts free of agitation. Even when he was humiliated, no anger or resentment arose in his heart. When others struck him, he did not strike back; when others cursed him, he did not answer. He only examined his own faults and did not hold others' wrongs against them.

One day, as he was walking along the road carrying his load on a shoulder pole, a donkey came charging toward him. He hurried to step aside, but the donkey suddenly butted him with its head. He could not dodge in time and fell to the ground. The donkey then bit through his clothing and ran off.

That night, as the cultivator sat in meditation and entered stillness, he seemed to see a person in white clothing thanking him. The figure said, "I am the donkey that struck you on the road. In a former life we bore a grudge against each other. Now the enmity has been resolved, and both of us are liberated. I am about to leave the realm of suffering (the state of life marked by pain) and be reborn as a human, which is why I have come to tell you. On a certain day next month, please meet me at a certain place, so that I may receive deliverance (help from Daoist methods, merit, and the like that lifts the dead out of their suffering)." Having said this, the figure departed.

The cultivator had seen and heard clearly, and he understood what had been said. It felt like a dream and yet not like one. He rose and went on with his meditation. On the appointed day of the following month, he went to the place they had agreed upon and found the household filled with joy, as though there were a happy occasion. He asked those nearby and learned that the family had given birth to a baby the night before. Greatly astonished, the cultivator quietly noted the child's name, and he vowed first to seek his own deliverance and only afterward to deliver others.

Friends, have you ever met someone like this? A grudge formed in a former life was only brought to an end in this one.

Those who receive and uphold the precepts (jielü) must first resolve on their own to endure humiliation, dissolve resentment, and willingly bear suffering. Even when they are insulted or suffer loss, they should let go of calculation, untie the knots of enmity, accept adversity with composure, subdue their own minds, and take it all upon themselves.

They should grip the sword of precepts (jiedao), which stands for cutting away deluded thoughts, and at all times cut away the fires of anger born of ignorance (wuming) in the heart. They should constantly wear the robe of patience (ren). Whether others beat, abuse, slander, insult, or humiliate them, their resolve must not be shaken. Even if they are implicated without cause, suffer punishment from the authorities, are struck by lightning or burned by fire, are drowned by floods, robbed by bandits, attacked by wolves or tigers, stricken by disease or poison, bitten by snakes, or even harassed by evil spirits; or if rumors damage their reputation, enemies curse them, harm reaches their relatives, or their limbs are injured and their bodies destroyed, they should regard all of this as the fixed destiny of past causes and conditions. They are in a time of calamity and cannot escape it.

Therefore, they should only accept it peacefully, comply with heaven's will, and repay old debts and settle past karma. They must never harbor resentment that would damage their discipline. They should reflect: if they are now being humiliated, perhaps they once humiliated others; if they are now troubled, perhaps they once troubled others. When they meet obstacles, disasters, and harm, they should also see these as karma created in the past, the consequences of which they must bear themselves.

After receiving the precepts, the various evil karmas gradually dissipate along with the movements of the mind. The six desires (liuyu), meaning the six sensory cravings, no longer arise, and the three poisons (sandu) of greed, anger, and delusion are eliminated. Body and mind become light and at ease, one's temperament grows gentle, suffering recedes, and grievances dissolve.

The accumulated resentments that all beings have built up since beginningless time should, from today, awaken a sense of conscience. For every debt owed, they should willingly accept the burden and repay it one by one. To put others' benefit above one's own, even at one's own loss, is the way of liberation. From then on, one returns to purity, recovering the true nature of the Great Void (taixu) and the primordial origin of undifferentiated chaos. Concentrating the spirit and guarding stillness, one cultivates a complete body of recompense (baoshen), the merit-body that manifests from the accomplishment of practice.

If past debts are not repaid, and if one refuses to yield when humiliated in this life, retribution will naturally follow in future lives. Then how can this body be freed? How can this mind become empty and tranquil? And how can one cultivate the Dao? You cannot even endure a few unpleasant words today. How, then, will you be able to shed the dust of worldly entanglement and attain purity when birth and death come to your door?

Brothers and sisters, if you can endure, the fire of ignorance in your heart (the rage arising from delusion and vexation) will be extinguished, and the five viscera will naturally be cool and clear. If you endure, the Huachi (the Jade Pond, a Daoist term for the saliva in the mouth, also often used for the state of cultivation within the body) will produce fluid, and the six bowels will naturally be balanced and at peace. Endurance can fulfill others' wishes, dissolve resentment, and bring about harmony, and it can broaden your own mind, making your heart generous and your spirit tolerant and open.

When someone insults me and I do not take it as an insult, the humiliation ultimately returns to the one who offered it. If I insult others and they feel humiliated, they will inevitably answer me with humiliation in return. When you can endure, your qi (vital energy) grows calm, the liver fire does not flare, and it is as if it were transformed into the power of the Southern Dipper to dispel calamity (the Southern Dipper, the six stars of the Southern Dipper, associated in Daoist belief with longevity and the removal of misfortune). When you can endure, the lungs and armpits produce fluid that moistens the stomach, as if it became the sweet dew of the Jade Pool. When you can endure, your jing (essence) is not depleted, and the upper and lower yuanqi (primordial vital energy) can relieve distress, as if it became the Wuling Spring. When you can endure, the earth of the spleen (the "earth" that corresponds to the spleen in the Five Phases) does not become dry and constricted, the body is light and healthy, and it is as if it became "white snow and yellow sprout" (a Neidan term, often used as a metaphor for the refined qi obtained through cultivation).

When you can endure, the fashen (Dharma body, the pure body realized by the cultivator) will not leak away, and so the Dao-qi (the qi of the Way) can reach the spirit and manifest a dignified and wondrous form. Endurance within the state benefits the court; endurance within the household benefits one's family; endurance toward oneself benefits one's shen (spirit); endurance within the heart benefits one's xingming (nature and life); endurance within the religious community benefits one's fellow disciples. Such are the benefits of endurance.

If one cannot bear humiliation and shoulder heavy burdens, the heart will find it difficult to attain emptiness and stillness. Enduring within the heart benefits one's xingming (nature and life), and enduring within the religious community benefits one's fellow disciples. Such are the benefits of endurance.

If one cannot bear humiliation and shoulder heavy burdens, the mind will find it hard to become empty and still, the spirit will find it hard to stay clear and luminous, the qi will find it hard to be full, and the breast will find it hard to be broad. With the heart-mind closed off, one's aspirations will not reach far; merit and virtue will be hard to bring to completion, conduct will be hard to make thorough, insight will not penetrate, and reflection will not go deep. Wisdom will then be shallow, blessings meager, and the foundation of cultivation weak. In this way, one hears the Dao without understanding it, and when one tries to practice it, one meets obstruction at every turn. One is hated, envied, and resented by others, and easily brings trouble upon oneself and is treated with contempt. In the dark, ghosts and spirits often punish, in dreams one is frequently startled and uneasy, and in the open, the gods rebuke. Illness clings to the body, and grievances accumulated over many kalpas are hard to dissolve, while the retribution of future lives grows ever heavier. The waves of the sea of suffering never cease; how could desire stir up such waves out of nothing?

Assembled brethren, have you not heard that virtue (De) is the foundation, that it can embrace others, and that only then does one's virtue become vast? Heaven shows no partiality toward any one person; it only aids those who possess virtue. Among you there are the wise and the foolish. Some, greedy for wealth, lose their virtue; some, greedy for beauty, lose their virtue; and some, prideful and quarrelsome, lose their virtue. Some are humiliated because of wealth, some because of beauty, some because of willful temper. The circumstances differ, but the humiliation is the same.

The Sage said, "A moment of anger makes one forget one's own safety, and even neglect one's own kin." He also said, "When angry, think of the calamities it may bring." Master Zeng said, "Once the heart is disturbed by anger and contrary thoughts, it cannot remain upright." Is the precept of enduring humiliation not important? Is the harm caused by wrathful anger not grave? For this reason, the Perfected (zhenren, realized beings) and the patriarchs took the removal of anger as the entry-level practice and the forgetting of anger as the essential secret of cultivation; they regarded enduring humiliation as the means of eliminating the mind of anger, and forgetting humiliation as the fulfillment of one's aspirations.

In the Scripture of Salvation from Suffering (Jiukujing), the Great Supreme Heavenly Lord Taiyi (Taiyi Tianzun), the venerable deity who rescues from suffering and ferries the dead, says: "Where flames obscure, they transform into a pure and cool Pure Land; where the lands of suffering are like sword-trees, they transform into fragrant and lovely groves. Transcending the sufferings of the Three Realms, one ultimately ascends to the Heaven of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianjie)."

Everyone should quickly awaken and listen to this verse: let go early of the discriminating mind that sets oneself against others, and swiftly understand the root of birth and death. Use patience under insult to quench the fire of anger, and when the mind is clear and empty, the Dharma-body (fashen), the true body beyond form, will appear. The seven emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire) fade as thoughts settle, and the ancients praised those who can endure a hundred insults. Only one who willingly accepts karmic retribution when it arrives can truly transcend calamity.

All karmic obstacles arise from past causes and conditions, and debts incurred must be repaid. The ignorant flare up in anger at the slightest loss, and so boundless grievances accumulate in the heart. In cultivation, the desire to gain advantage must above all be abandoned: if I take an advantage, others will not willingly submit. Having passed through calamities, the knots of resentment still cannot be undone, and even in a pure place, disputes never cease.

When the mind does not cling to right and wrong, heaven and earth appear broad. Immortals (xian) and asuras (xiuluo), combative non-human deities, walk two different paths. A blissful and tranquil land arises from much yielding, and only by repaying the old debts formed through humiliation can one's cultivation be perfected. Since this mortal body has already set out on the path of cultivation, why are you still unwilling to suffer loss? Rage rises to the heavens and the body burns like fire; if one cannot abide in one's true nature, one will invite sufferings like those of the hungry ghosts (egui).

Eight Purities of Body and Mind

Since you have all received the precepts and taken refuge (returning to the Daoist teaching and upholding its methods), you should cultivate the complete Daoist merit. Since this mortal body has already set out on the path of cultivation, why are you still unwilling to suffer loss? Rage rises to the heavens and the body burns like fire; if one cannot abide in one's true nature, one will invite sufferings like those of the hungry ghosts.

Good people, since you have already upheld the precepts and taken refuge in the Dao (dào) gate, you should single-mindedly seek to transcend the mundane world and rise above birth and death. Adepts who truly transcend birth and death cultivate the Dao of no birth and no death, the supreme One Vehicle (yīshèng). What is called cultivating the Dao is transforming body and mind within worldly methods. Fundamentally, there is no fixed method to grasp.

Worldly methods and methods for transcending the world both lie within a single thought of the mind. They differ only in whether they are applied in forward or reverse direction. Ultimately they are one method, and this is not merely a matter of turning the principles of favorable circumstances around. When one applies reversing methods in accordance with the flow of events, the myriad things return to non-action (wúwéi), and even ghosts and spirits cannot fathom its essential mechanisms. When one responds to change within reversal, a single method unfolds into the myriad things, and the transformations of Yin-Yang (yīnyáng) all lie within one's grasp. This is not achieved through deliberate effort, deduction, or calculation. It arises naturally from spiritual illumination and innate reason, and there is no separate gate of "transcendence" apart from it.

Yet if one says that one must transcend the world, then who exactly is transcending? Must this person be carried from the world to some place beyond it before it counts as transcendence? It is not so.

Now, to speak of persuading people to let this body transcend: heaven and earth are vast, and the world is broad, yet these too are worldly methods. To transcend the world does not mean moving the body from the mundane realm to some otherworldly place. The key still lies in how the mind is transformed.

Now, let us speak of persuading you to transcend the mundane with this body and mind. Even though heaven is vast and the world is broad, neither can be counted as outside the mundane. You must listen carefully: what is called "beyond the world" means going beyond the laws of the mundane. To see through the laws of the mundane is to recognize that they are not real, that all emotions are false like illusions, and that all artificial doings and their functions are like dreams. Though things appear to have affairs, none of them has a true and unchanging essence. Only when this mind is purified can one transcend the mundane.

Friends, how can we see that this mind is able to transcend the mundane? Heaven has its changes of clear and cloudy skies and its movements, and it cannot transcend them. The earth splits and collapses, and it cannot transcend this. The sun and moon wax and wane, rise and set, and they cannot transcend this. The stars fall far away, and they cannot transcend this. Wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, along with frost, snow, mist, and dew, all follow fixed patterns and limits, and they cannot transcend these. Mountains crumble, stones shatter, waters run dry, springs dry up, plants wither and rot, and gold and jade melt and break apart; none of these can transcend their nature.

People are born and die, and all things flourish, decline, age, and mature. Feelings are deep or shallow, thick or thin; breath goes out and comes in; thoughts stir and settle; essential qi leaks away; the spirit grows dim and scattered; momentum waxes and wanes; profit increases and decreases. None of these can transcend. Every artificial thing escapes neither the process of formation, maintenance, dissolution, and decay, nor birth, aging, sickness, and death. How, then, could it be called transcendence?

Friends, it is good to realize within the mundane world the method of transcending the mundane. The method of transcendence does not lie in lengthy explanation; it lies only in returning this mind to purity. Once you understand that heaven, earth, the myriad things, human sentiments, and worldly affairs are not the method of transcendence, you will know that all of them remain within the bounds of the mundane. If you can grasp this in your heart, understanding that all heaven, earth, and the myriad things are impermanent, and that the laws of the mundane and the ways of human affairs are like illusions, then what is the true numinous spirit (zhenling)? The zhenling has no form or appearance, no taste or sound. To say it is within is not to say it is only within; to say it is without does not mean it comes from outside. Everyone originally possesses it, and it embraces all things. This is the Dharma King (fawang) who can transcend the mundane, the master of the way of liberation.

Everyone, this true numinous and luminous original nature has no form and no sound. To say it is within is not wrong, yet it is not confined to within. To say it is without is also not right, for it does not come from outside. Everyone possesses it, and all things are contained within it. It is precisely because of this nature that a person can become a master who transcends the mundane world.

Everyone, this numinous nature is the master of life. It pervades past and present and the whole cosmos, is present everywhere and at all times, and is of profound significance. Buddhists call it the "Wondrous Bright True Mind" (miàomíng zhēnxīn). Confucians call it "Bright Virtue, Supreme Goodness" (míngdé zhìshàn). Daoists call it the "Perfectly Luminous Dao-Mother" (yuánmíng dàomǔ), and also "Ancestral Qi" (zǔqì), the fundamental primordial vital energy from which Heaven, Earth, and all things arise. It has many other names, too many to recount. Where, then, should one seek the nature that can recognize Heaven, Earth, all things, human feelings, and worldly affairs? The phrase in the Great Learning, "to illumine bright virtue and rest in the highest good," points precisely to this.

This Bright Virtue and Supreme Goodness dwells within the becoming, abiding, emptying, and decaying that all things undergo, and within the births, aging, sicknesses, and deaths of human beings. Yet it is itself true numen and is not bound by sickness or death. From ancient times to the present it has always existed, clear and unobscured, pervading Heaven and Earth, and it can enter and leave the dark realms. It neither arises nor changes, neither increases nor decreases, neither lacks nor exceeds, and has no coming or going. It can govern the transformations of Yin and Yang without being bound by them. It can subdue spirits and demons without being troubled by them. It can employ all things without being held by them. It can resolve human emotions without being moved by them, and it can respond to the laws of the world without being sunk in them. It can transcend the mundane yet also abide in the world. It passes freely among the Three Realms (the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm), unrestrained, and it governs all spiritual beings with transformations that are profound and unfathomable. Above Heaven and below Earth, it alone is most honored, and nothing can be compared to it.

Yet although everyone possesses this true numen, few understand it. The various cultivation methods and differing teaching gates, as well as the Three Vehicles (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva) and the single canon of Buddhist scriptures, all arise from it. Its subtle and profound mysteries lie right before one's eyes if one comprehends them, but if one is lost, it is like sinking into the deep sea.

Cultivating the Way of otherworldliness (transcending the mundane world and pursuing liberation) cannot be separated from two aspects: the "body" (shen) and the "mind" (xin). The body is temporary, whereas the mind has a real aspect; yet the mind also has an illusory aspect, and what is truly fundamental is "nature" (xing), the original or true nature. Therefore one must understand that it is necessary to rely on temporary, illusory things in order to cultivate the true nature.

The outer body, though false, and the inner nature, though real; outer form and color ultimately return to emptiness, while the inner nature is not bound by form and color. Yet if one does not rely on this body formed through conditioned action, it is difficult to cultivate the non-active Dharma body (the body that transcends physical form and embodies the true nature). And if one does not undergo the birth, aging, sickness, and death of the outer body, it is difficult to comprehend that the mind is originally pure and complete.

Therefore, one must "borrow the false to cultivate the true": the outer is false and the inner is real; outer form and color return to emptiness, while the inner nature is not constrained by form and color. Without relying on the conditioned physical body (the visible flesh), it is difficult to cultivate the non-active Dharma body; without beginning from the body subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death, it is difficult to comprehend the inwardly pure and complete mind. If one does not rely on the mind that is numinous and alert, it is also difficult to transcend and realize the vast, boundless nature.

This nature is bestowed by Heaven's mandate (the fundamental endowment conferred by Heaven). At birth, a person's nature has not yet been defiled, and it is one and the same with the Great Void (the boundless empty expanse of space), equal to it in size. It is empty and formless, as if it contained nothing; yet it is whole and complete, as if nothing is excluded from it.

Friends, if you wish to transcend the mundane world now, each of you must first purify your body and mind. How is that purity cultivated? The human body is made of blood and qi (vital energy), yet blood and qi do not last forever. They are truly the root of birth and death and the source of calamity. They burden the mind and harm one's original nature. Craving beauty and indulging in lust lets the physical body enjoy pleasure, and competing for fame and profit lets it gain advantage. Punishment under the law, disaster, and illness may all arise from clinging to this body.

Taishang Laojun (the deity revered by Daoism) said, "The reason people have worries is that they have this body. If I did not have this body, what worries would I have?" The ancients also said, "If a person is not burdened by the form, then right before the eyes lies the realm of the Great Luo immortals." (The Great Luo Immortal is a high-ranking perfected being in Daoist teaching.) From this we can see that the calamities brought by this body are not small.

Now one must see clearly that the physical body is only a temporary shell, assembled from elements such as earth, water, and wind. Yet if we are not speaking of complete cultivation but only urging people to practice filial piety, we should still say that the body and hair are received from one's parents and must not be lightly harmed. A person's life is born from the essence (jing) and blood of the parents, gathering the essential qi of heaven and earth and the transformations of Yin-Yang. The round head symbolizes heaven and the square feet symbolize earth. Standing between them, a person forms the "Three Powers" (heaven, earth, and humanity). Among all beings, humans are the most honored. Above, they can accord with heaven and earth; in the dark netherworld, they can assist ghosts and spirits. In study they may aspire to become sages, and in cultivation they may attain immortality or buddhahood. How could one regard such a precious body as a filthy lump of earth?

The meaning of the scripture is to admonish those who have received precepts and practice cultivation not to be content with decline or led astray by worldly custom. Do not attend only to the comfort and pleasure of the physical body, but cause the true nature to return to its eternal authenticity. Establish a firm resolve and master Yin-Yang. Cultivate body and mind until they are dignified and pure, in accord with the Dharmadhatu (the integral realm on which all things depend). If the dharma body (the pure body achieved through cultivation) still has gaps, one cannot reach the state in which both form and spirit (shen) are refined and one becomes truly unified with the Great Dao.

Friends, today I will explain the practice of qingjing (purity and stillness). To make body and mind pure and still, first set aside worldly affairs, keep away from worldly desires, and stop living according to conventional ways. Be content with plain, simple food, take pleasure in quiet leisure, give up rich and meaty dishes, and keep away from noise. Take refuge in the Three Treasures (sanbao), which Daoism honors as the Dao, the scriptures (jing), and the teacher, and keep a single, undivided mind at all times.

Cultivate your temperament so that it becomes calm and even. Carry yourself with dignity and good order. Do not let your eyes and ears be drawn toward improper things, keep your thoughts from scattering, hold no delusions or attachments, and do not speak in a loud or clamorous voice. Gather the light of your eyes and look inward, so that the linggtai (the seat of the spirit in the heart) becomes clear. Gather the essential qi of your ears and listen inwardly, as though you could hear the tianlai (the natural, clear sound of Heaven). Speak little, keep silent often, and return to the natural state of stillness.

Avoid leaving behind regret and error, do not let your thoughts drift and wander, and do not let your spirit become agitated. Allow your inner vitality to flow freely, so that profound principles gradually become clear to you. Abstain from meat and strong-smelling foods, and by this quietly diminish the karmic harm accumulated in the past. Let your body observe the precepts and carefully uphold the siwei (the Four Dignified Deportments: walking, standing, sitting, and lying down with proper bearing). When you walk without haste, the heart stays unhurried; when your hands do not move carelessly, the heart does not grow restless. Sit upright and do not lean. When you lie down, remain alert and do not fall into drowsiness or indulge in sleep. Eat light, lightly seasoned food so that the five viscera stay in balance, and speak deliberately and calmly so that your voice is gentle and smooth. These are called the coarse practices of purifying body and mind.

As for the subtle practice of cultivation, you should repeatedly reflect upon and put into action the two words qingjing. What I fear is that you will not truly take it to heart and practice it deeply. If you can concentrate on understanding it and practice it earnestly, you need not worry that you will fail to attain the Dao.

Everyone, when the mind holds no two thoughts that entangle one another, this is called "qing" (clarity). When discursive thoughts do not stir in confusion, this is called "jing" (stillness). When the mind does not cling to outward appearances, this is called "qing." When thoughts do not stagnate but flow naturally, this is called "jing." When each thought is clear and perfectly integrated, this is called "qing." When light penetrates everywhere without obstruction, this is called "jing."

When the inner mind is not tainted by external things, this is called "qing." When all worries are set down, this is called "jing." When the forms of all things cannot conceal themselves, this is called "qing." When even ghosts and spirits cannot fathom their transformations, this is called "jing." When the state of mind flows smoothly like running water, this is called "qing." When the original nature is as clear and bright as the moon, this is called "jing." When the transgressions accumulated since beginningless time are eliminated and obstructions dissolve, this is called "qing." When the karmic conditions of many kalpas are thoroughly concluded, this is called "jing."

Turning inward to observe the mind, one finds no fixed "mind" to cling to, and this is called "qing." Looking outward at all things, one finds that they too have no unchanging, graspable substance, and this is called "jing." When mind, things, and the observer are all understood, this is called "qing." When one sees everything returning to emptiness and quiescence, this is called "jing." When contemplating "emptiness," one also sets aside the very concept of emptiness, and this is called "qing." Reaching the state where there is nothing to empty and no emptiness to grasp is called "jing." When even the object of emptying no longer exists, and the notions of "non-being" (wu) and "non-non-being" (wu wu) are eliminated together, this is called "qing." When the mind is luminously clear and constantly still, and even "stillness" itself is no longer clung to, this is called "jing."

Responding to all things with the constant true nature is called "qing." Though one responds to all affairs while the inner mind remains still, this is called "jing." When the inner mind is thoroughly bright and not dim, this is called "qing." From this one enters the many mysterious gateways of teaching, and this is called "jing." Transcending the Three Realms (the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm) is called "qing." Freeing oneself from the constraints of generation and transformation represented by the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) is called "jing." Breaking attachment to empty space is called "qing." Eliminating even the notion of "breaking through empty space" is called "jing." When light illuminates all the heavens, this is called "qing." When one universally delivers all living beings, this is called "jing."

As "qing" and "jing" deepen layer by layer, they ultimately point toward a mind that is clear and luminous, a multitude of thoughts set down, and a transcendence of attachment. Through this, one responds to all things and liberates all beings.

Friends, taking this occasion of instruction, I will briefly explain the main point. The scriptures of the sages of the three teachings, the myriad Dharma gates, the wondrous sights of the heavens, the thirty-six thousand paths of cultivation, the eighty-four thousand Dharma doors, and the Bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges together with countless Golden Immortals all depend on the wondrous methods of purity and stillness (qingjing), concentration (ding), wisdom (hui), and non-action (Wuwei).

Friends, the supreme and perfectly complete True Dao, the generation of heaven and earth, the birth of humankind, and the emergence of all things all originate in purity and stillness. The Most High (Taishang) says: "If people can always preserve purity and stillness, all things under heaven will return to the right Way." It also says: "When the heart is pure and still, the world beneath heaven will be at peace." From this it is clear that cultivating purity and stillness of body and mind is the way to attain enlightenment most swiftly.

Friends, from today on, set aside all the figures of speech we have used when speaking of cultivation, such as "lead and mercury," "dragon and tiger," and "the smelting of Yin and Yang." Begin only with the method of purity and stillness, dispel deluded thoughts, halt evil intentions, and steadily walk the correct path of the Middle Way. Do not fear that the going is slow. Going slowly is not going astray, and since the road already lies before you, there is no need to take another. If what I say is deceptive, may I willingly fall into hell.

At that time, the Lüshi (precept master), a Daoist who expounds the precepts and urges people to keep them, said:

"When scattered thoughts are in turmoil, the mind is not pure; when dust and defilement are heavy, the body is not clean. If body and mind are unclear, it is hard to see one's original nature. If the heart is not at rest, how can one comprehend non-action? Looking inward, one knows the body is like an illusion; turning the light back upon the self-mind, one discovers that the mind is originally empty. Once the mind is empty, spirit illumination appears naturally. Concentration and wisdom are the true essentials. Observe the movement of the sun and moon, and also practice the Way of purity and stillness in daily life. Reverse the direction of circulation, grasp the handle of the Big Dipper, and hold fast to stillness, and you will accord with the heart of Heaven."

Section Nine: Seeking a Teacher and Asking the Way

From ancient times, sages, immortals, and Buddhas alike have depended on the guidance of a teacher in order to realize their attainments and accomplish the Way. For this reason, teaching is handed down from generation to generation between master and disciple, transmitted orally and recited, with mind meeting mind. When the principles connect from beginning to end, like milk fusing with water or glue bonding tightly with lacquer, and when those who share the same aspirations attract one another and answer each other's voices, like water and sky merging into one color or lamplight reflecting in mutual brilliance, then the way between master and disciple is complete.

Ladies and gentlemen, I see that many people in the world seek out teachers and inquire into the Dao (the Way), yet they often fall a little short. Between master and disciple there must be a transmission and reception of the Dao and its methods (daofa), each responding to the other like lamplight reflected back and forth. Only when both sides fulfill their responsibilities is the relationship complete.

Ladies and gentlemen, I see that many people in the world seek out teachers and inquire into the Dao, yet they have only the title of master and disciple without the substance of passing on the Way. For this reason, I am willing today to speak at length, unafraid of being criticized or slandered, and to explain to you the principles of seeking a teacher and asking about the Dao. You must keep this in your hearts. When you first become the disciple of another, you must know how to show proper reverence to your teacher. When in time you become a teacher yourself, your disciples will follow the example of those who came before and act accordingly. To honor the teacher is to honor the Dao.

Friends, there are ignorant people in the world who do not understand their own original mind and are easily led along by external things. Though they long for the Dao (the Way), they cannot tell the orthodox path from the heterodox, and though they have the heart to cultivate, they do not know the proper methods of practice. Having heard it said that "nature must be realized through one's own understanding, while life is transmitted by a teacher" (xìng yóu zì wù, mìng jiǎ shī chuán), they follow whatever they are told without discrimination.

Sometimes they encounter Daoist adepts who have come from afar, wearing tattered monastic robes, straw sandals on their feet, palm-leaf fans in hand, and prayer mats slung over their shoulders, wandering from town to town. Some sit in the street begging with their bowls, while others stroll along the road at ease. When they reach a Daoist abbey, they take up lodging there, and when they reach a Buddhist temple, they stay the night as well. They speak at length of oral formulas in persuasive language, discussing the Mysterious Pass of One Orifice (xuánguān yī qiào), the Tail Terminus and the Sea Floor (wěilǘ hǎidǐ), the Mud Pellet Palace (Níwán Gōng), and the Gushing Spring Point (Yǒngquán Xué). They speak of guarding the center and raising the qi (vital energy), establishing the cauldron and setting up the furnace, prolonging years and increasing life, and massage and daoyin (guided breathing and stretching). They also teach the Six-Syllable Formula (Liùzì Jué) and the Eight Brocades (Bā Duàn Jǐn), as well as the Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to Reality) and the Cantong Qi (Seal of the Unity of Three). They borrow the metaphors of the alchemical classics: lead and mercury, dragon and tiger, silver sand, husband and wife, the hexagram lines of sun and moon, nurturing by the turtle and snake, bathing and gestating the embryo, entering the chamber to sit within the circle, and the emergence of the yin shen (spirit) and the yang shen. Heterodox arts are so numerous that they cannot be counted.

Friends, these people lack the wisdom of discernment in their hearts. How could they tell true from false, or right from wrong? And so they readily trust these adepts. There is also a more despicable class: those who speak wildly of "cauldron and vessel" (dǐng qì), a doctrine that uses the bodies of men and women as analogies for alchemical apparatus, and the swindlers who make "mao silver" (máo yín), a fraud that claims to produce silver by refining ore. They bewilder people with lust and lure them with wealth. Even if such methods truly existed, ordinary people could never turn stone into gold through them, and those who indulge in desire could never prolong their years by such means.

Those who speak of "cauldron and vessel" stir evil thoughts at the sight of beauty and waver in mind when tempted. This is what is called the loss of "true mercury" (zhēn gǒng), a metaphor in inner alchemy (nèidān), leading to damage of the innate root, the exhaustion of precious jing (essence) and qi, and often illness besides. Far from continuing their life, they sever the very root of nourishing it. This is truly lamentable and pitiable. As for the swindlers who make mao silver, who talk of sand and ore and claim that silver will be produced after repeated refining, nurturing, and transformation, it is all trickery, and it often ruins those greedy for gain. Their guilt is heavier than that of the adepts described earlier. I cannot bear to speak of them at length, lest I invite slander. Yet since you have already received the precepts, you should hear from me the general principles for seeking a teacher and inquiring into the Dao.

Disciples who have received the precepts, the so-called "Supreme Way of August Heaven" (Huangtian Zhidao) is vast and boundless, profound and subtle, and it often attracts criticism. Let me now describe in broad outline the proper method of seeking a teacher and inquiring into the Dao.

The "Supreme Way of August Heaven" is vast and boundless, lofty and honored, and so mysterious and deep that it is hard to perceive. It is so great that nothing lies beyond it, and so small that it has no inner limit. It pervades Heaven and Earth and passes in and out of the netherworld. It seems to exist, yet seems not to. It does not get wet when it enters water, and it is not burned when it enters fire. It exists before past and present, giving birth to Heaven and Earth, moving the sun and moon, and nourishing the myriad things, and it also gives rise to sages, immortals, and Buddhas. Sentient beings and even insects and plants all have it within them, and there is no place in the world where it is absent. Everything in people's daily lives also embodies its subtle principles. Yet the common people encounter it every day without understanding it, and those of shallow insight are confused and cannot grasp it. As a result, they lose their original purity and nature and, even over countless kalpas, fail to comprehend it. Before their parents gave them life, people do not know where their true spirit (zhenling, the original numinous nature) came from. Nor do they know how this life will end once the shen (spirit) leaves the body. Thus they endure the sufferings of birth and death within the inverted and confused cycle of rebirth. For this reason, I point out the root of cultivating the Dao, and I urge people to seek a true teacher without delay and to hear the Ultimate Dao (zhidao) as early as possible.

The true teacher is hard to find, and the gifted disciple is hard to come by as well. A disciple who lacks a sincere heart for the Dao and an aspiration to transcend the mundane world will have their wisdom nature obscured. Even when they encounter a true master, they may be prevented from meeting him by various obstacles, or, though they see the person, fail to recognize him as a true teacher. A teacher who lacks a heart for saving the world, even when he meets a good disciple, may fail to perceive that disciple's capacity, and his own discernment is clouded. As a result, he misses, face to face, a person who has a karmic connection with him.

Friends, when a teacher seeks a disciple, it is like casting a mustard seed into the eye of a needle: the two are extremely hard to join. When a disciple seeks a teacher, it is like trying to scoop up the moon from water: it is difficult to obtain. The true teacher is rare and the outstanding disciple is hard to find, and the key lies not in wealth or treasure but in whether the hearts of both parties are sincere. Which teacher who possesses the Dao would carelessly pass his Dao-methods to someone unsuited to receive them? And which person of genuine insight, who devotes himself to seeking the Dao, would recklessly take on a master?

Since the teacher does not transmit the Dao carelessly, we know that his heart embraces the Great Dao and that he is seeking a suitable disciple. Since the disciple does not take a master lightly, we know that his understanding is clear and that he applies his mind to seeking the Dao. If such people can set down the obstacles in their hearts, resolve to seek the Dao within the mundane world, and open their vision and broaden their hearts, then on encountering a teacher who possesses the Dao, they will naturally see him clearly and understand his words. Even if they hear only one or two sentences, they will join with him exactly as the mustard seed fits into the eye of the needle.

Likewise, a teacher who does not accept disciples lightly and does not transmit carelessly, upon meeting a disciple of such high understanding, how could he not respond with joy, converse freely about the principles of the Dao, and pass on to him the subtle oral formulas (koujue), the true meaning, the profound celestial mechanisms, and the mysterious secret principles? He would also transmit the Dao from heart to heart and teach orally the tianzhang (celestial registers, meaning scriptures or the rites and methods bestowed by heaven).

Friends, true teachers are not rare, and there are many disciples. Let me explain why true teachers are plentiful. Everything you encounter through the six sense faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind can become a teacher. For example, if the ear hears beneficial words and you act on them and are truly convinced in your heart, then the ear serves as a teacher leading you into the Dao (the Way), and these good words are the teaching that conveys the principle. The other five faculties work the same way.

One need not hold to a single fixed teacher. Ultimately, one should take the Dao (the Way) itself as one's teacher. Whenever you hear good words, listen with concentrated attention, as if sweet dew were falling into your heart or a clarifying nectar were poured over your head. Also, quietly remember the person who spoke them, thank him for opening your ignorance and confusion, and wish that he will soon attain profound skill and achieve the supreme Dao (the Way), spreading these good words through compassionate and skillful means. Is this not also a bond of teacher and disciple?

If you read the various scriptures, the classics of the three teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, their true words, and their secret instructions, and gain understanding from them, you should bow in reverence and praise them. Through this, you recognize and firmly believe their principles, which is like meeting a teacher. The methods by which a teacher guides people are like a compassionate ferry and a bridge to the right path, and there is not just one kind. Mencius said: "Teaching has many methods: some help a person cultivate virtue, some develop a person's talents, some answer questions, and some influence people through private observation and imitation. All of these are forms of instruction."

Thus, some people meet and immediately find common ground; some have known each other for a long time yet treat one another as if they had just met, with no distinctions of closeness, rank, or superiority; some receive instruction after showing respect through formal bows; and others offer a ritual gift and take a vow before receiving transmission. Respect is indispensable in ritual propriety, yet mere outward respect without sincerity is not true respect. What matters is whether the disciple practices faithfully and earnestly, and whether he honors the teacher and values the Dao (the Way) and its methods.

For this reason, some teachers test their disciples many times before transmitting the Way, as Master Yunfang tested Lü Dongbin ten times. Others will not receive a disciple until he sets aside his pride and sincerely seeks an audience, as Liu Xuande (Liu Bei) visited Zhuge Liang three times. Some disciples follow a teacher for many years without ever changing their original intention, while some teachers, though they clearly see the disciple's sincerity, deliberately place many hardships in his path to test him. The transmission of Dao and learning is no small matter, and it cannot be obtained easily. Hence the saying, "The profound methods of the Dao are not spoken lightly, nor passed carelessly to others." Advanced methods cannot be given to those whose capacity is insufficient, and simple methods may not suit those of great wisdom. Instruction must be tailored to the person.

Ran You, a disciple of Confucius, asked: "When I hear something, should I put it into practice immediately?" Confucius replied: "Yes, put it into practice when you hear it." When Zilu asked the same question, Confucius answered: "Your father and elder brothers are still alive. How can you act immediately upon hearing?" Gongxi Hua was puzzled by this. Confucius explained that Ran You held back in his actions, so he needed encouragement to move forward, while Zilu often went beyond others, so he needed to be restrained. Since the two were different, their answers could not be the same. Among Confucius's disciples, many asked about benevolence (ren), and Confucius gave different answers each time. The reason lies here.

Some people truly believe, while others have merely happened to hear. One may explain the principles to those who sincerely seek the Way, but one should not casually transmit them to those who have only chanced upon them. Therefore it is said: "Do not regard something as ordinary merely because it was obtained easily."

Gentlemen, many people teach the principle of benevolence to those who are benevolent, yet Confucius's answers differed from one another, and that difference is itself the principle. Some people gain faith the moment they hear it, while others merely happen to hear it. To those who already have faith, one may speak; to those who have heard by chance, one should not rashly speak. Therefore it is said: "Do not treat it as ordinary once you have obtained it easily."

Gentlemen, when one speaks of the Dao (the Way) before hundreds or thousands of people, the clever among them readily grasp it, but the dull find it hard to practice. Even if one recites aloud and clearly explains the profound principle, those who listen attentively and remember it will benefit. Those who are attentive but lack the opportunity hear it as wind passing by their ears and regard it as ordinary talk.

Shakyamuni Buddha (the founder of Buddhism) once held up a flower for the assembly to see and said: "I possess the subtle and clear True Nature, the Wondrous Mind of Nirvana (the subtle mind that transcends birth and death), and the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (the wisdom that perceives the true teaching). Do you see it?" Only Mahakasyapa (a disciple of the Buddha) smiled as he held the flower. Gentlemen, Shakyamuni Buddha and Mahakasyapa seemed to be teaching openly, yet in fact they transmitted the Dao in secret before the crowd, passing it from mind to mind and from mouth to mouth. Among so many listeners, none knew what was being transmitted or what was being received.

Confucius, the great sage, once said to Zengzi before many worthy disciples: "Shen, my Dao is penetrated by one principle." Zengzi replied, "Yes." Many disciples were present. Was this not Confucius transmitting the Dao openly and Zengzi comprehending it among his fellow disciples? If people do not recognize their own original mind, then even when they encounter it, it is as though they have not encountered it at all, and they still do not know what was transmitted and what was understood. Zengzi thoroughly understood his own nature, and therefore naturally his mind accorded with the sage's intention.

In the past, the Yellow Emperor (a legendary ancient ruler) of the Xuanyuan clan went to Mount Kongtong to seek the Dao from Guangchengzi (a legendary immortal who had attained the Dao). The Yellow Emperor earnestly requested it many times, and Guangchengzi refused each time. The Yellow Emperor withdrew, fasted and quietly cultivated himself, and lived in seclusion for three months. Then he visited Guangchengzi again, approached on his knees with humility, and respectfully asked about the supreme principle. Only then did Guangchengzi answer:

"The subtleties of the Supreme Dao are profound and hard to fathom; the ultimate of the Supreme Dao is chaotic and silent. Do not look, do not listen. Let the spirit rest in quiet and preserve its authenticity, and the body will naturally become upright. Be sure to remain tranquil and clear, do not weary your body, and do not let your thoughts run in disorder. Only then can you live long. Be cautious toward the temptations of the outer world and gather in the stray thoughts of the heart. Excessive cleverness will only invite ruin. I hold fast to that single root and keep myself in a state of peace, and so I have not aged in twelve hundred years."

Guangchengzi told the Yellow Emperor these words face to face, and then said nothing more. Whether the Yellow Emperor followed these words was left to his own decision; whether he did not follow them was also left to his own decision. This is what is called each person pursuing their own Dao.

Fellow practitioners, our Daoist tradition includes the Daodejing (Dao De Jing) and the Nanhua Jing (Nanhua Jing), which contain many subtle principles. It also has the Chongxu Jing (Chongxu Jing) and the Wenshi Zhenjing (Wenshi Zhenjing), which transmit many true words. Add the Three Caverns (Sandong) and the Four Supplements (Sifu), along with thirty-six sections of scriptures, and the canon is extraordinarily rich! Who can quiet their mind, listen attentively to the wondrous meanings in the sacred classics, widen their vision, and go beyond words to awaken to the Dao? If you have not awakened within yourself, your heart will not become clear, and even when you meet a true teacher, you may fail to recognize them.

Friends, before seeking a teacher, first seek yourself. Before asking about the Dao, first ask your own heart. If you do not practice according to the precepts, it will be very difficult to meet a teacher who can confirm the Dao for you. The key to cultivation is humility and reverence. You must completely remove arrogance and self-satisfaction, and treat others with gentleness and modesty. You must also entirely eliminate thoughts of slander and jealousy. When you meet others, do not boast of your abilities. Simply stay alert, remembering that others may have abilities of their own. Suppose you encounter a truly discerning worthy, or a person whose mind is clear and whose will is firm. If they point out your core weakness in a few words, how will you defend yourself and extricate yourself? At that moment, you will be like snow melting away, with the truth revealed, and no one who truly understands will be deceived.

I urge you all: seeking a teacher and asking about the Dao is by no means a casual matter. You cannot think that bowing a few times and calling someone "Master" before becoming their student is enough. Today, it is very common for disciples who practice the Dao to look down on their teachers and treat the Dao with negligence. You should quickly reflect on yourselves, kneel before the ancestral masters of past generations, repent of your arrogance and disrespect, abandon old habits, and honor the Dao's treasures. If your sincerity is earnest and you devote yourself wholeheartedly to finding a true teacher, Heaven will not fail those who cultivate the Dao. The perfected immortals will also manifest naturally, without being bound by distance or by timing.

Listen to this verse of mine:

Seeking a teacher, first restrain yourself; asking about the Dao, you must be sincere.

Only a sincere heart can awaken to the Dao; only an earnest mind can meet a good destiny.

An opportunity that is rare across ten thousand kalpas has come to us after a thousand lifetimes.

If you can grasp what I have said, you will suddenly awaken to the root that existed before birth.

Biyuan Tanjing (Biyuan Tanjing), Volume Two

10. Equal Cultivation of Concentration and Wisdom (balancing the power of stillness with wisdom)

Those who have received the Precepts of Initial Perfection (chuzhen jie, the elementary precepts for entering the Way) and wish to advance to the Precepts of the Middle Ultimate (zhongji jie, the intermediate precepts) should first put into practice, thoroughly and steadily, the subtle cultivation taught by the Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection. Only then may they receive the Three Hundred Great Precepts of the Middle Ultimate.

Someone may ask: what exactly distinguishes the Precepts of the Middle Ultimate from those of Initial Perfection? If keeping the One precept means observing the precepts at every turn, and cultivating the One True means seeking truth at every turn, why is there still a Middle Ultimate after Initial Perfection, and a Wondrous Celestial Immortal precept after that?

The principle is not hard to grasp. Let me illustrate it with the principles of empty space. The Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection teach you to restrain outward conduct, to avoid rash action and improper deportment. The Three Hundred Great Precepts of the Middle Ultimate teach you to subdue stubborn thoughts, so that delusions do not fly about and the mind does not run in disorder. The Wondrous Precepts of the Celestial Immortal teach you to let go of attachment even to the true intent, so that you are no longer entangled or bound.

The scope of the Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection is relatively shallow, while the Three Hundred Precepts of the Middle Ultimate are more finely detailed. The Initial Perfection precepts govern the six outward sense-faculties (liugen), namely the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, as the organs of perception and activity. The Middle Ultimate precepts clear away the six dusts (liuchen) that confront the inner mind, namely form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and phenomena, as the objects of perception. The Wondrous Precepts of the Celestial Immortal bring liberation to the three bodies (sanshen), the levels of body and mind related to cultivation, and dissolve the eight consciousnesses (bashi), the various layers of cognitive activity, so that the nine demons and ten calamities can no longer disturb the practitioner.

Friends, the "Initial Perfected Precepts" (chu zhen jie) are given because you have now awakened to your past faults and feel deep regret for your old transgressions. You also recognize that human life is short and that birth and death are impermanent. Having left home to become Daoist priests, you are called "Quanzhen" (Complete Perfection, a Daoist practitioner aimed at cultivating the True and returning to the Origin). But consider carefully: since you left home, have you ever truly realized "Quanzhen"? You have let whole years pass in vain, slowly grown old, and become no different from ordinary people.

All day you cross mountains and wade through rivers, traveling from place to place. Although you have worshipped at several famous mountains, you have merely looked at more rocks and trees than laypeople do, and in the end the toil is no different from that of merchants and traders. Braving wind and sleeping under dew, what is it all for? And when have you ever met an immortal? Those who claim to transmit secret oral formulas are mostly laypeople passing these teachings along from one to another, still seeing the world with the eyes of ordinary mortals. You have read a few alchemical scriptures on internal alchemy (Neidan), and then memorized their fragments by rote. It is like swallowing stones that you cannot digest, so you never grasp their flavor at all. Thus you are no different from ordinary people, and how could you transcend the dust of the world and rise above the mundane?

Today you received the Initial Perfected Precepts, which shows that within your hearts, which have recognized your faults and turned toward repentance, your original face still remains. Why not change the false intentions of your daily lives into sincere hearts, change false thoughts into true thoughts, and change false countenances into genuine ones? Open your minds and repent sincerely. From the day you received these precepts onward……